Wild Cat - Part Two
by Chickie.Babe1
Summary: Alexis Westlake has lived in LaPush her entire life. Her best friends Jacob, Embry and Quil make life fun, and this only gets better when Bella returns. But when her friends suddenly start cutting her out one by one and Bella becomes depressed, what will happen? And how will she deal with her own sudden 'developments' that arise when she discovers the dark secrets of Forks?
1. Chapter 1

**My New Story.**

**Seeing as I haven't been very good at updating my Elementals, I decided to release this one.**

**This part of the story has been finished for months and I am currently in the middle of writing the next part, as well as another twilight fanfic I began and Elementals.**

**This part is set in _'New Moon'_ and is therefore counted as the second part to this story. However, because _'Twilight'_ (the first book) is so boring, I made it so that we can skip that book (part one) and just go to this one. Because I couldn't get past five chapters of _'Twilight'_. Sorry about that.**

**So this is part two, but you do not need to worry about reading part one, it just gives you a small insight into their lives that isn't really needed for this one. However you do need to read this part to be able to understand the next two parts that are hopefully coming.**

**It sounds confusing but I felt the need to tell you all.**

**This is an apology for not updating frequently.**

**Enjoy.**


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 1:

Alexis' POV.

"Alexis, could you come and give me a hand please?" my mother called up

"Sure." I called back. I closed the book I was reading and headed down the stairs and into the kitchen. My mother was preparing dinner for us, her almost auburn hair was tied back into a pony tale as she was cooking a roast.

"Cut some potatoes for me dear?" she asked, I nodded and went to get some from out pantry

"How many?" I wondered

"About two dozen." I raised an eyebrow but did as she asked. I cut up the potatoes and put them in a dish while my mother marinaded the chicken.

"So is it only us eating tonight?" I wondered, looking at the amount of food she had prepared.

"No, the Blacks and Clearwaters are coming for dinner." she smiled. I grinned. Jacob Black and I had know each other since he were like three months old. Our father's have been friends since they were young, and after meeting her my mother become quick friends with Sarah too. So our families always did things together. Other then Jake, my best friend was Leah Clearwater. I truly don't know where I'd be without her, and vis versa as I had helped her through a ruff patch not too long ago. Though she was a year older then me, we were basically inseparable.

"Is Charlie not coming?" I wondered

"No, he said he would like to but he needed to keep an eye on Bella." Mum sighed

"And he couldn't bring her too?" I asked, mum shrugged.

Isabella Swan, the daughter of Charlie Swan, the chief of police. She used to live here before her mother and father separated and Bells went with her mum to Arizona. She still come back and visit Charlie all the time while she was growing up, but she hadn't been here since she was fourteen. That wasn't surprising though, Bella had never kept the fact that she hated Forks a secret.

A few months ago though, she returned to Forks to live with her dad, allowing her mother to spend some time with her new husband, who was a baseballer.

She went to school with me and at first everything was good, normal even.

Things didn't stay that way.

Two years before Bella had moved here another family had moved to Forks, the Cullen family. They were unbelievably beautiful. Gorgeous. Mesmerising. All of the above. They stuck to themselves mostly though and didn't really interact with the rest of the school. Well, until Bella turned up.

Edward, being the only single one among them, took a fancy to her. At first he seemed to hate her, then things sort of got better, then Bella was almost killed by a car and things got worse again for a few months. It was confusing to keep up with really. One minute Bella was intimidated by his glares, the next they were speaking, then they weren't and then suddenly, they were dating.

After Edward had saved Bella from the car, she'd had all these suspicions, suspicions she only shared with me, mainly because I had them too. Then one day, those suspicions drowned away and she didn't care anymore. This was when they started dating. A few more things happened before Bella suddenly left Charlie and took off, only to end up in hospital from falling down a flight of stairs and out a window. It sounded like something Bella would do, but it also sounded to… rehearsed.

After that Bella spent every waking moment with Edward, almost as if they were joined at the hip.

Though because she'd just gotten up and left like that, Charlie had begun to be a little more strict on her, like giving her a curfew and limiting the amount of time she could spend with Edward.

Charlie blamed Edward for what happened to Bella. He said that if Edward hadn't upset her and caused her to leave, she wouldn't have ended up in the hospital. I had my doubts that something else happened though.

The door bell rang as I was washing my hands and I went to answer it.

"Hey Lexi," Jacob grinned standing on my front porch.

"Hey Jake," I smiled giving him a hug. Lexi was the nickname I had on the reservation.

"Alexis, how are you?" Billy greeted

"Not bad Billy, you?" I wondered

"Not to bad." he smiled. Billy was like my second father, in fact both the Clearwaters and the Blacks were my other families. One of the perks of living in a small town.

I invited them in and Jake wheeled Billy — who was in a wheel chair because of his diabetes — into the living room.

"Billy, glad you could come." mum welcomed

"Happy to be here. Thanks for inviting us Diana," Billy smiled and he kissed my mother's cheek

"Oh nonsense, you're a pleasure," mum smiled.

"What's going on?" I looked up to see James, my sixteen your old brother walking down the stairs.

"Mum invited the Blacks and Clearwaters to dinner." I explained

"Oh so nothing new then," James grinned, I shrugged. He was right, we often had dinner with them, the only thing that changed was who's house we had it at. The doorbell rang again and I answered it immediately, only to have a pair of arms flung around my neck.

"Hey Leah," I smiled hugging her back.

"Hey," she said with a smirk

"Hey Lex," Seth greeted me

"Heya Seth," I smiled, ruffling his hair. Seth was Leah's younger brother, only fifteen years old.

"How've you been Lexi?" Harry wondered

"Good and you?" I asked

"Good," he said as I stepped aside to let them pass. Sue bent down and kissed my cheek

"Hello Alexis,"

"Hey Sue," I smiled. Sue was my second mother, just like my mother was to Leah. She was probably the only person on the reservation who called me Alexis, other then my mother. Well unless, I was being shouted at.

Jake, Leah, Seth, James and I sat along the steps that led to the upper floor of my house, gossiping.

Leah was sort of sour towards the boys, she'd been like that since her boyfriend, Sam Uley, had dumped her. Just in his prime too. It was weird, he'd gone through his amazing change. He grew muscles like he was on steroids, cut his hair off and started running around shirtless a lot. Two other boys had joined Sam, Jared Cameron and Paul Lahote. They'd cut off their hair, and started running around like they owned the place. The tattoo they'd all gotten on their arms acted as a symbol for this.

It was sort of weird though. The way it happened.

Though they were the only ones who'd started running around in the cold half naked, they weren't the only ones growing. Jake had grown several feet in the last month, not only that but he was filling out too. James was no exception.

It seemed like all the boys were suddenly hitting puberty and it was being nice to them, making them all almost irresistible.

Mum and dad had been keeping tabs on James, measuring him every now and then and weighing him almost every fortnight, every time he got heavier. Not from eating to much, but from all the muscle he was putting on. Though as this happened I noticed them speaking in private a lot more too.

Like I said, things got weirder after Bella turned up.

"Dinner's ready." my mother called. I was first down the stairs, Leah behind me. As we walked into the dinning room. The dinning table was covered in food, seriously I don't know what's going through my mother's head but I swear we couldn't eat that much.

We all sat around the table and the chatter immediately spiked.

"Hey Seth," I whispered. He was sitting next to me

"Yeah?"

"How's Leah been?" I wondered, I knew if I asked Leah she would say she was fine. Which she's clearly not.

Seth sighed

"She sits in her room a lot, snaps at people a lot. I've sometimes heard her crying." he admitted before glancing at her. Leah was sitting between her mother and father, chatting to them. I rested my chin on my palm.

"It's too bad. They were cute together," I muttered

"I think the fact that their relationship sort of got hard after Sam changed didn't help. He still hasn't told her what's going on."

"Really?" I asked. Seth nodded

"He's been avoiding her,"

"If you ask me he's been avoiding everyone."

"Not everyone." Jacob butt in, he was sitting on my other side "He talks to my dad a lot."

"Really? About what?" I asked, Jacob shrugged

"Dunno." I sighed, 'poor Leah' was all I could think. Of course she'd probably bash me for feeling sympathy towards her.

"By the way Alexis," I turned from Seth to look at my mother "What did you end up getting Bella for her birthday?" she asked

"It's Bella's birthday?" Jake asked

"Yeah in a few days." I nodded

"What did you get her?" Seth wondered

"Well she didn't make it easy. Bella declared a no presents rule." I sighed "But I found something that I think she'll like." I smiled

"What?" Leah asked, I could see I was annoying her by beating around the bush.

"Just a new book," I shrugged

"Well that's boring." James thought

"To you. Bella loves books," I shrugged. It was true. Something the two of us had in common was that we both liked to read.

"I didn't know it was her birthday," Jacob admitted

"Didn't I tell you?" Billy asked, Jake shook his head.

"Sorry, Charlie told us. Bella tried to keep if a secret but he didn't exactly help," I smirked.

That ended that conversation as Jacob began to think. I smirked at him and he noticed the look as I winked at him. He rolled his eyes. Jake had a crush on Bella, if that's what you'd like to call it. I think that was one of the reasons neither Jacob or Edward liked one another. The subject changed again. This time to the new year coming. I was in my senior year now. My last year.

"You excited?" Leah wondered, I shrugged

"Feels like any other year."

"But it's not. It's your last year," Jacob said

"Really?" I asked sarcastically. The new school year had only just begun a few weeks ago. My eighteenth birthday had been just before then, in June. We'd thrown a party and several people had come. I had to admit it got a little out of hand, quite a few people ended up passed out in my room, Leah being one of them. But, it was fun.

I wasn't the only one who'd had a birthday, Jake's had passed too, making him sixteen, but he certainly didn't look it. I bet, if he wanted to, Jake could pass as a nineteen year old, he was growing that much.

"So, Billy," my mother began "What's the news on this bear?" she wondered. We were all silent for a minute. It's been happening a lot. Several hikers had gone missing, most of them killed. They'd been mauled by some sort of bear, their throats ripped out and their stomachs ripped open. It was awful. Billy and Harry were mostly in on the story, Charlie was the on in charge of it all. But they couldn't find anything that gave evidence of a bear other then the pile of bodies.

"Still nothing." Billy sighed

"Haven't found the beast that's done it then," I muttered. Billy and Harry shook their heads. I sighed. The kids on the reservation weren't allowed to go out through the forest anymore. Which was annoying cause Jacob, Embry, Quil and I used to spend all out time in those forests. Now they didn't want us going near the tree line, let along in it. I thought they were being overprotective, the hikers had been deep in the forest, we were only at the trees. Then again, I guessed the tribe leaders knew what was best.

The Blacks and Clearwaters left late, having stayed and talked for hours after we'd finished. Mum had made us an amazing desert to come after the roast and everyone — as per usual loved it.

I went to my room, finished a little homework before having a shower and getting into bed. I laid there, staring at the celling. Something in the back of my mind was telling me something was wrong. I knew that but… these killings, they bothered me. And not in the same way they bothered everyone else. I sighed.

"Jeez. Why do I always keep digging to deep?" I questioned.

I feel asleep after that, but when I awoke the next morning, I couldn't remember what I'd dreamt about. Only that it was important. And this annoyed me. Though it wasn't the first time. All summer I'd been having these dreams, but I could never remember what happened the next morning.

The door bell rang and I jogged to answer it, only to find Jake there smiling

"Well hello," I smirked, "Long time no see." he couldn't help but laugh at me and I chuckled with him.

"Wanna come to the beach?" he wondered, I shrugged

"Sure," I grabbed my parker and shrugged into it before closing the front door behind me and walking with Jacob down the road.

"So any idea what you're gonna give Bella for her birthday?" I eventually asked. Jake sighed but shook his head.

"I don't know what she'd like." he confessed "Any ideas?" he looked at me and I thought about it.

"Well, she's been having bad dreams lately," I remembered

"What type of bad dreams?" Jacob wondered

"Don't know, she didn't want to talk about it. Which is fair enough." I shrugged. Jake had a thoughtful look on his face as he thought "So maybe something to make her feel better?" I added. The ground below our feet changed from dirt to sand and the ocean could be heard clearly as it come into view.

There weren't many people around, First Beach wasn't a warm beach after all. We walked along the sand in silence for a while before we heard a shout. I looked up to see something flying at my face. Having been in this situation many times before I instinctively ducked and the ball went whizzing over the top of my head as I felt my knees make contact with the soft sand.

I turned around just in time to see the ball make contact with the ground and throw sand everywhere. I let out a sigh and looked back to see who'd kicked the ball.

I wasn't at all surprised to see Embry and Quil there with worried looks on their faces. I glared at them

"I swear you boys are trying to get me injured," I scolded as I stood up

"You alright?" Jacob wondered, I could hear him trying to conceal his laughter

"Fine," I sighed. I brushed the sand off and walked over towards Embry and Quil. They watched me, a little worried as I stood between them. We stood their in silence before I whacked the two of them over the head. They winced.

"Sorry Lex," Embry apologised

"Jeez, I can't hang around any of you without almost being inured." I grumbled

"That's not our fault," Quil defended

"Well, it doesn't seem to happen around anyone else?" I confessed

"We're obviously a little more daring," Embry smirked as Jacob stood by my side. "Nice reflexes though." he complimented

"Better hope so, I've had enough practice," I admitted, earning a chuckle from the boys. "By the way," I remembered "You might want to go and get your ball before someone nicks it." I pointed over my shoulder. Embry and Quil immediately ran after it, knowing someone would take it if given the chance. I grinned as they ran, both trying to get their first.

"Sorry 'bout that." Jake smiled, I looked at him a little confused

"Why? It wasn't your fault," I reminded. He shrugged

"I feel responsible for them sometimes."

"How do you think I feel? I feel responsible for you all!" I confessed. Jacob smirked. Embry and Quil walked back up to us

"So, you two want to join us?" Embry grinned

"Only if you promise not to kick the ball at my face again," I agreed. They boys just grinned, which was their way of saying 'no promises'.

Naturally the wall was kicked at my face a few times but I managed to either avoid them, head butt them or actually kick them. Soccer was probably one of my best sports for reasons such as these.

* * *

It took me my morning routine to remember that it was Bella's birthday today. And I ran back upstairs to collect my gift for her.

As every morning I drove James to his school before driving to Forks High School. I parked in my usual spot and jumped out, looking around.

"Morning Alex," I turned to look at a friend of mine. I smiled

"Hey Hailey,"

"How are you today?" she wondered

"Not bad and you?"

"Awesome," she shrugged with a grin. I rolled my eyes and a boy came up and placed his arm around her waist. Adrian, Hailey's boyfriend.

"S'up Alex," he greeted.

"Nothing much." I answered. I turned towards the car park entrance as I heard the usual sound of Bella's truck engine roaring above everything else.

"We'll see you later?" Hailey suggested. I nodded

"Yeah," and they waved to me before walking into the school building. I watched as Bella slam the door of her '53 Chevy truck — a shower of rust specks fluttered down to the wet Blacktop — and walked slowly toward where I saw Edward and Alice Cullen waiting for her. Alice skipped forward to meet her, her pixie face glowing under her spiky black hair.

"Happy birthday, Bella!" I just heard her say. I smirked as Bella hissed at her and began to make my way over to them, my gift for her in my hand. I watched as she reached Edward and they said a few words. Alice laughed and I took that as I moment to step in. I came up behind Bella and wrapped my arms around her waist. She jumped surprised and I couldn't help but laugh. She turned to look at me and scowled

"Happy Birthday," I chimed happily. She glared at me but I just smiled. Her glare intensified when I held up the gift in my hand

"I thought I said no presents." she grumbled annoyed. Alice stood next to me and smiled, the gift still in her hand too.

Since Bella and Edward had started dating I'd spoken to them a lot more often then before. So much that Alice and I had become rather close. Not enough for them to tell me that they whisper about, only to stop when I come close, but close enough to for me to count her as a friend.

"Sorry Bella, but I got you this before you declared that rule." I shrugged

"I declared the rule before anyone found out about my birthday," Bella thought

"Bella I've known you since we were young, did you think I forgot your birthday?" I asked. She scowled at me but I only grinned and held the present up again. I smirked as she eyed it before taking the gift.

"Oh so you except her present but not mine?" Alice complained

"She knows she can't refuse me." I said nudging Alice. Alice frowned as Bella opened the gift. When she saw the book she couldn't help but smile and I grinned at her

"Thanks," she said.

"You're welcome," I smiled "So you throwing a party Alice?" I asked her

"No, Bella wouldn't let me." she frowned

"And that's going to stop you?" I asked surprised. Alice smirked as the bell sounded throughout the school. "Well, don't have to much fun without me," I insisted "See you all later." I waved before turning around and heading into the building.

The day passed sort of slowly. I knew well enough to know Alice had done something for Bella this afternoon, and I knew Bella was dreading it. So to make it better for her, I sat with her at lunch, with Edward, Alice, Mike, Jessica, Angela, Ben, Eric, Conner, Tyler, and Lauren. As usual, there seemed to be a line between on the table, Edward, Alice and Bella on one side, and Mike, Jessica, Angela, Ben, Eric, Conner, Tyler, and Lauren on the other. When I sat with them it seemed like I was the only one who interacted with both sides of this line.

Though I will admit that Edward and Alice seemed less menacing to others now that the older Cullens had left. Emmett, Rosalie and Jasper had graduated from the school at the end of last year, I guess that'd be another reason for Edward and Alice to make new friends. I didn't really understand this whole… intimidating vibe that everyone seemed to get from the Cullens. If you asked me they were just people… well extremely gorgeous, almost like they shouldn't really exist gorgeous. But I guess it was the fact that were so gorgeous that people sort of distanced themselves.

I walked with Edward and Bella to biology. It surprised me how serious Edward was about their relationship. So serious he'd switched all his classes to be with Bella. For our senior year I thought that was a little reckless. I also thought it was a little serious. They'd only been together for half a year, and high school romances hardly ever stayed together. Who knew though, maybe, like Rosalie and Emmett seemed to be, they'd be high school sweet hearts.

The day passed and I saw Bella with Edward as they walked towards Bella's truck. I gave her a hug, surprising her again — I was getting rather good at that — and said happy birthday again.

"Oh and good luck with tonight," I said. Alice had told me her plans during first hour together. Bella eyed me, obviously finally understanding that I was in on what Alice had in store for her. Edward sent me a smile, I'd promised him I wouldn't tell Bella what they were up to. I winked at him before heading towards my own car.

Even though I sort of agreed with Charlie, Edward was the cause of Bella's pain and physical injuries — so far — I liked him, the way he watched Bella was like he'd follow her to the ends of the earth in order to protect her. And I guess for now, that was good enough for me.

I turned the music up in my car and sang along to the music that played as my iPod was connected to the radio. I drummed my fingers on the steering wheel before looking to the side. I slammed my foot on the break as something seemed to catch my attention. It looked like an animal. But not just any animal. I huge animal, like massive, taller then a person. It disappeared before my car even stopped but I looked out my window to try and spot it again.

There'd been reported sightings of this rogue bear, but that didn't look like a bear. The way it moved looked almost to graceful. To fast to be a bear. I took a deep breath and realised what I'd done. Thank god LaPush was small and not many cars were on the roads, if there had been, then I could have just caused an accident.

I took a deep breath and, after taking another look out my window, I drove towards the LaPush reservation school.

I slapped my hands onto my cheek when I parked in the school's car park and waited for James to hurry up and get to the car.

"Get a hold of yourself girl." I muttered to myself. For all I know I could have been imagining it. Hell, I probably was, especially with all the weird dreams and suspicion taking over my mind lately.

I was brought out of the thoughts when the passenger door next to me opened and I looked up to see James.

"Hey," I smiled

"You alright?" he wondered. I nodded

"Yep. Peachy," I turned the ignition back on and prepared to pull out of the car park as I waited for a few more cars to pass. I could see James watching me from the corner of my eye. He didn't believe me.

_"Of course he doesn't, I said peachy. Who says that?"_ I questioned myself.

I pulled out of the car park and drove down the road towards home. My parents cars were both missing so I guessed they were out working. I parked the car in the garage and walked to the front door, unlocking it and letting both James and I inside. James walked right past me and into the house. I rolled my eyes as I began to shut the door.

"Hey, Lexi," I paused and leaned around the door to look towards the road. Only to see Embry there. I smiled and opened the door fully.

"Hey," I smirked as he approached me

"Hey,"

"How you doing?" I asked

"Good," he shrugged. I stepped aside and invited him in. I wasn't at all surprised that school had just ended and he somehow managed to get here just after me, without a car. Knowing Embry he'd probably skipped.

"So how was school?" I asked with a grin

"Great, learnt some stuff today,"

"Yeah? Like what?" I wondered

"Oh, you know, this and that," he shrugged. I rolled my eyes as I poured him a drink.

"You three, I swear, are going to end up… I don't know…" I thought, talking about him, Jacob and Quil

"On your couch?" Embry smirked

"Probably," I agreed with a smile as I passed him the cup.

"That'll be something to annoy your husband with." he couldn't stop himself from snickering a little bit.

"Yeah, three guys sleeping on my couch, that's definitely going to make a problem." I smirked "If I get married that is." Embry scoffed and I smiled at his answer.

I had to admit though, for a small town there were very few single adults, most of them were widowed or divorced, like Charlie and Billy. Everyone found someone important within the small boundaries of Forks. Though my dad was different. He'd gone to Washington D.C. to go to college, actually he was one of the only Quileutes that did go to college.

It was in Washington that he met my mother. I never found out why they decided to move back here, but it had happened before I was born. That was the reason why I didn't really fit in, in LaPush, my brown wavy hair and bluey-grey eyes that I inherited from my mother — though her eyes were more grey then mine — is what enabled me to stand out around here. Unlike my brother James who inherited my fathers Quileute look of russet skin, dark brown hair and brown eyes. Though my dads hair was black not brown.

Embry's story was a little different though. He didn't know who his father was. His mother was from the Makah tribe up in Alaska. We all guessed Embry's mother had left his father up in Alaska, but it was a bit of a touchy subject so she'd never told us the truth.

Despite this however Embry still had the same look as all the other Quileutes, russet skin, long wavy black hair and dark eyes. A look his mother didn't have.

Embry never seemed bothered by the fact his father was unknown to him though. He was quite happy just with his mother. Plus he had Jacob, Quil and I, and others.

I smiled and he looked at me confused

"What?" he wondered. I shook my head

"Nothing." Embry raised his eyebrow at me and I just shrugged in return. He eyed me curiously before he seemed to shrug it off. We watched TV for a while and I was tempted to ask him if anything was wrong, granted I was always happy when one of my Musketeers came to visit but, there was something off.

"Hey Em," I began, he looked at me "Are you alright?" I wondered. He looked confused

"Yeah, why?" he asked. I shrugged

"You just seem sort of… I don't know, different," I admitted "You don't seem as happy as always?" Embry thought about it before shrugging

"Sorry." he apologised. I shook my head

"Don't worry about it then," I muttered. My parents came home, within the space of an hour of one another and my father, who got home first, began to make dinner — yes he can cook. By the time my mother came home Embry's mum had called and asked for him to return home too, so I told him I'd give him a lift.

It was weird, the car ride was silent and this bugged me. I didn't understand, something was off but I couldn't put my finger on it. Today had just been weird, and not your usual weird either.

"Thanks for the lift," Embry smiled as he got out of the car

"Anytime." I answered with a smile. He shut the door and waved to me before disappearing into the house. I drove slowly back home, trying to put my finger on what was bugging me. Naturally though, I couldn't.

Dad had finished making tea by the time I got home and we sat down in silence to eat together like every night.

"Alex," my mother said, I looked up at her "Are you alright?" she wondered, I thought about it before nodding

"Yeah." I answered 'I don't know' was what I was really thinking. She looked at me a little longer, debating on whether she believed me or not, before looking back at her food.

No one else spoke after that.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 2:

The next day passed with a blur. But I few things I did notice. Like the fact that Edward had a hard, but blank look on his face, like something was troubling him. The first thing I noticed how ever was Bella.

"Jeez, what did you do?" I questioned when I saw her. She looked at me confused before I walked over to her to inspect her arm. She pulled it away, surprised

"You're not a good lair, whether you speak or not," I confessed "What happened?" I asked while I, very gently, traced the patch on her arm.

"I tripped." she lied. I eyed her and she frowned at me when she realised I saw right through it. I swear I was the only person who could see straight through every lie she came up with. It might have been on of the reasons I was suspicious as to what really happened to her in Phoenix or the real reason she didn't like celebrating her birthday anymore.

I sighed

"Well aren't you clumsy," I muttered. She smiled weakly at me, knowing I didn't believe her but happy I went along with her anyway.

"Good morning." Hailey greeted me in the corridor, like every other morning. I looked at her with a smile

"You're awfully chipper this morning," I said with a bad accent, she gave me a look "What?" I wondered

"What accent was that meant to be?" she wondered

"Not sure," I muttered. "So what happened?" I wondered

"Nothing," she shrugged

"Yeah right." I smirked and she just grinned at me. "You're not going to tell me, are you?" I asked annoyed. She shook her head and I rolled my eyes

"What's the point in being your best friend if you don't tell me things?" I complained

"It's not that important," she shrugged.

"Yeah right." I muttered before walking with her to first hour.

* * *

At lunch I sat with Bella again, I didn't know why but Hailey and Valerie seemed to understand. They asked me if I was alright too. I didn't know why everyone kept asking me. I mean I felt fine physically, sure there were a lot of annoying things floating around in my head but that wasn't much of a reason to worry. Everyone had those moments when there was a lot on their mind.

Edward and Bella were already sitting at the table talking to one another when I got there. Edward still had that look on his face, but I could see that something hid behind this new mask he'd plastered on his face.

"Where's Alice?" I asked as I sat down, having seen Connor and Tyler enter the cafeteria and join the lunch line, the two had fourth hour class with her.

"She's sick, taking the day off." Edward answered plainly. I saw Bella give him a look as I put down my tray. I looked at him for a second before sitting down.

"That's to bad, though she seemed overly excited yesterday," I admitted "Guess she exhausted herself out a bit." Edward just nodded. I looked at him for a second longer, not only did he have that look but he was less sociable then usual too. I leaned closer to Bella

"What's wrong with him?" I whispered into her ear. Bella sighed and shrugged, giving him a concerned and frightful look. I guessed she could see how badly he was hiding his emotions too, which was saying something as he usually kept his facial expressions under lock and key anyway.

It was weird when he stayed silent throughout our entire lunch conversation. He hardly looked at Bella through out all of lunch for once, though she kept glancing up at him, a worried expression on her face. She sent me a look but I only frowned at her and shrugged. If she didn't know what was going on in his head, how was I supposed to?

The day ended and I drove to the res school in silence and waited for James. There was a tap on my window as I waited and I turned to see Jacob standing there. I smiled and opened the door, swivelling around in my seat to face him.

"Hey," I greeted

"Hey." he looked at me a little concerned for a second "Are you alright?" he wondered, I rolled my eyes

"Yes, I'm fine."

"Been getting that a lot?" he wondered

"That's an understatement." I muttered. He smirked at me

"What were you thinking about?" he asked

"A lot," I shrugged

"Anything important?" I thought

"No," I answered plainly. Jacob sighed and gave me a concerned look. I shrugged and smiled at him, he was about to say something else before the door opened behind me and James jumped into the car.

"Come on let's go," he decided. I rolled my eyes

"Aren't you impatient." I muttered. He rolled his eyes

"Come on,"

"Yes sir." I mumbled causing Jake to smirk. I shut the door and waved to him before pulling out. I glanced back at him to see him frowning. I sighed. I couldn't exactly explain what was going on in my head for I didn't understand it completely myself.

After dropping James off at home, I went to the gym. I'd done gymnastics since I was three but I didn't compete or do lessons anymore. I just ended up there when I had to much on my mind.

Allowing my body to reach it's limits made me feel better and cleared my head. It was annoying me how observant of everything I seemed to be getting. Knowing Bella's lies wasn't new, but realising that Edward was wearing a mask, was. Noticing when he was lying was new. Thinking something was wrong with Embry yesterday was new. I didn't like it. And to perfectly honest, I wanted it to stop.

When I left the gym, it was raining. I stood in it, staring up at the dark sky, letting the water wash over me. Rain never bothered me. I guess when growing up in a wet place like Forks, you sort of got used to it. I walked slowly to my car before driving myself home.

While at dinner my mum asked me yet again if I was alright. I told her I was tired and had a lot on my mind, assuring her I was fine. I don't think she believed me.

I'd come to the conclusion that something bad was going to happen, and that was why I was feeling weird. Edward's behaviour today didn't exactly help.

The next day was just as bad as the last. There was no Alice to make the wet day seem cheerful and Edward was still as cold as a statue. It was weird and it made me feel worse. Though today I managed to get by without as many people asking me if I was alright. I concentrated on my classes, joined in on the conversation with my friends at lunch and had a small side chat with Jordan in Biology. I couldn't ignore the annoying feeling I had but I could at least act normal, try and push the feeling away for now, and doing that made me feel better.

At the end of the day, I said good bye to Bella but for some reason, I also told her to be careful. We were both confused by the sentence that escaped my mouth and Bella gave me a confused look, but I shook my head and smiled at her before saying good bye to Edward. He didn't answer me, he hardly even acknowledged me.

I walked towards my car and just before I got in I looked towards Bella's car. For the first time since Bella's birthday I saw them leave together, in separate cars, driving one behind the other, but together. I let out a sigh of relief. That was good… right?

I drove to James school, but was surprised when I saw him waiting for me in the car park. I pulled up next to him and he got into the car. He noticed my surprised look

"What?"

"You were waiting?" I answered

"You took too long," he shrugged "Well, longer." he smiled. I didn't know why bit seeing my brother smile at me, made me feel better. I rolled my eyes at him before driving off towards home.

James turned on the radio as I drove and the music drowned the silence nicely. We went into the house and I did some homework, trying to drown my thoughts out as I played more music in my room. It helped a little and I could actually get some work done. I was distracted my a knock on my front door not two hours after I got home. Getting up and opening the door I found Jacob standing on my front porch.

"Jake…" I looked at him, he was tense, his face serious and worried.

"Bella's missing." Jacob said immediately. I looked at him confused and shocked

"But I only saw her…" I looked at him completely shocked, but the expression on his face said he wasn't lying.

"My dad and your parents are already over there." Jacob informed me. I turned around

"James!" I shouted. He came down the stairs surprised, my shout wasn't angry but worried.

"What's wrong?" he questioned

"We're going to the Swan's house. Bella's missing." I explained. He didn't need telling twice as he ran back upstairs to grab a coat as I pulled my shoes on, grabbed my car keys and Jacob followed me out to the car. I got the engine running as James locked the front door and ran to the car. Jacob jumped into the passenger seat of the car next to me while James got in the back and I immediately reversed out.

I drove, silently, towards Bella's house and no one broke that silence, not an explanation or question. Just silence.

When I arrived at Bella's house I saw the front yard swarming with people, it almost looked like all of Forks had showed up to find her. Naturally Charlie had called everyone to find out where she could have possibly been. It surprised me when I realised he hadn't called my house. I noticed that Harry Clearwater and Sue where there, standing with Charlie around his Police cruiser, there was a walkie talkie and people were on their phones as everyone worried. A few police men were scattered around too, obviously being ordered by the Chief of police to find his daughter. Charlie noticed us as we jumped out of the car and he immediately stalked straight towards me, a serious and worried look on his face.

"Alexis…" he said seriously

"I saw her leaving the school," I answered immediately, knowing what he wanted "She left with Edward driving behind her. I haven't heard or seen her since." Charlie ran his fingers through his hair. I noticed Bella's truck was here. I didn't understand

"Isn't she at the Cullens?" I wondered

"No, she left a note saying she was going for a walk with Edward. And besides, they're not answering." Charlie answered. Not answering? How could there not be anyone home? There was seven of them, though two were at college. And Esme I heard was always home.

We stayed for hours and everyone helped to try and locate Bella. I had started to worry as Charlie sent police men out looking for her. Unfortunately, they all came back empty handed.

"Call the Cullens again." Charlie muttered as he took out his phone and began to dial the number. I stood with Jake, I think I started shaking at one stage with worry as Jacob rubbed my shoulder.

"The Cullens left town Charlie." Billy informed him bluntly.

I froze. They left?

I suddenly realised that it was Edward's looks that had been making me worry all week. That was the cause of me being over observant, of me having a bad feeling. He never looked like that at Bella, ever, not at all in the last six months that they'd been together. And now, she was missing and he was gone? They'd just left? Does this mean they took Bella with them, or…? I could feel my eyes well up with tears as I worried and Jacob's comforting rubs weren't helping anymore.

"Good riddance." Harry muttered, Charlie sighed, apparently already knowing this fact. I could see that I wasn't the only one worrying that Bella might have gone with the Cullens. Though I didn't believe she'd ever do that without telling someone, anyone, first.

"We'll find her Charlie." Billy assured him. I heard a noise then, like the snapping of a twig, and I looked up, I turned around in Jacob's arms to look towards the tree line that surrounded the house.

I gasped and Jacob followed my gaze. It was Sam Uley, and he held a bundle in his arms.

"I've got her!" Sam called out. Everyone turned around and Charlie raced over to them, I couldn't move. Everyone crowded around Sam and Bella, I tried to go too, but my feet wouldn't move. Jacob stayed by my side, his arms wrapped around me now for comfort.

"No, I don't think she's hurt," Sam's voice sounded "She just keeps saying 'He's gone.' " He's gone? I wondered

"Edward," I mumbled. I felt Jake's head move as he looked down at me.

"Bella, honey, are you all right?" Charlie asked

"Charlie?" I could hardly hear Bella's voice.

"I'm right here, baby." Charlie assured her as he took Bella from Sam. Charlie staggered a bit under her and Sam reached out for her

"Maybe I should hold on to her," Sam suggested.

"I've got her," Charlie said, a little breathless. Charlie walked across the front yard and to the front door of the house, staggering a little under Bella's weight. I didn't move but turned to Sam. He was standing a ways from me still

"Thanks Sam," I said softly, just higher then a whisper. He looked at me and for some reason I knew he heard me, even from that distance. Everyone walked into the house with Charlie and evacuated the front yard.

"I don't understand," I mumbled "Why would they leave?" I felt Jacob shrug as he didn't leave my side.

"If you believe what my dad does, then they had to." I could hear the humour in his voice as he tried to cheer me up. I looked at him confused

"What you dad believes?" I wondered, Jacob looked at me surprised

"The Quileute legends," he reminded me. I almost hit myself in the head for forgetting that.

I used to love those legends, but after the Cullens had moved here and Billy had told me to stay away from them, I had my doubts and sort of pushed the stories down, away where they didn't bother me.

"Right," I muttered as I looked back towards the front door of the house. I saw that Sam was still standing there, watching us. He had an intense stare on his face, like he knew something was going to happened. But it wasn't me he was staring at, he was staring at Jacob.

The look he gave him made me look at Jake to see him almost worried. I rubbed his arms that were wrapped around me and he looked down at me, I smiled assuringly and he gave me a little smile back. I looked back at Sam in time to see him walk inside with everyone else. He glanced behind him at two other boys who followed him in. It wasn't hard to recognise them, they were Jared and Paul, the two new members of Sam's new gang. I stared at the door for a while before sighing.

We stood in silence for a while, I knew I should go and make sure Bella was alright but she was currently surrounded by people and the living room looked crowded enough as it is.

I thought about how I'd had a bad feeling since Bella's birthday. I couldn't shake the feeling that this was the reason.

"Are you alright?" Jacob wondered looking down at me.

"I don't know," I muttered, Jake turned me around so that I was looking at him.

"What's wrong?" he asked softly.

"I'm not sure. But something's been bugging me for days, ever since Bella's birthday. And Edward's looked so cold and sour since then too. I feel like I knew something bad like this was going to happen," I confessed "Like an instinct." Jacob looked down at me and took a deep breath "It sounds crazy but that's how I feel. And I feel awful because of it."

"Lex, this is not your fault." Jacob said strongly

"I know," I muttered "But I still feel awful." I sighed. Jacob pulled me into a hug and rubbed my back. "I don't know what's with me, but it's kind of scaring me," I whispered so quietly I wondered if he could even hear me.

People began to leave after a while, my family being one of them. Jake had told them he'd look after me and bring me home later. While everyone else left, Jake and I didn't move. It wasn't until I believed the house was empty enough that I left Jacob's side and walked into the living room.

Bella was lying on the couch under two blankets, her face was expressionless, dull, pale, and her eyes were closed as she tried to get some sleep. But if I looked really closely, I could see that the blank look was just a mask, hiding all the pain beneath it. I walked slowly and quietly over to her and placed my hand on her shoulder. She opened her eyes to look at me and I smiled at her weakly. Charlie was in the other room, talking to Dr Gerandy.

"Are you okay?" I said ever so softly. She looked at me before beginning to nod. I shook my head interrupting her. "I know you're not. I just asked you to see if you'd lie to me." I said, I saw her frown just a little, breaking the expressionless mask. The frown didn't last long though.

"Bella I'm sorry," I apologised, I wasn't apologising for her pain, but for the awful things she looked like she was feeling.

"It's okay," she said, speaking as softly as I was.

"Is there anything I can do to help?" I wondered, Bella shook her head

"He's gone." she said again, as if the only thing that would make her better would be to bring Edward back. I felt my eyes well up with tears, seeing her like this was so painful, so awful.

"I'm sorry." I apologised yet again putting my head on the blanket to hide my face. Bella didn't move as I took a few deep breaths to calm me down. I looked back at her "I'll leave you to sleep then." I decided "But I'll come back tomorrow, to see if you're alright." I promised. She didn't say anything. She didn't nod either but that didn't matter, I was going to come anyway, whether she wanted me to or not. I stood up and kissed her hair

"Get better. Please." I said softly into her ear before walking out of the house. Jacob was standing there waiting. He didn't bother asking me if I was okay again. He just placed a comforting arm around me and lead me to my car. I got into the passenger seat, not at all in the right condition to drive, while Jake got into the drivers seat, starting up the ignition. He turned the radio off and we drove in silence. I just looked out the window, staring into the blackness.

I felt so crushed, seeing Bella like that. There was a difference between feeling embarrassed to show emotion and not showing anything at all. Even her constant blush seemed to have disappeared. And when I spoke to her, it was like she hardly even heard what I was saying, whether she answered me or not.

This was awful. How could Edward do this to her? How could he leave her when she cared about him so much? Why would he leave when _he_ loved _her_ so much? No hospital would offer you a large some of money to leave within the hour, it was too difficult to move somewhere else that quickly, whether you were loaded like the Cullens or not. It didn't make any sense. It didn't sound right.

It bugged me.

I didn't believe they would move to LA, it just didn't seem like their scene.

None of this seemed right. It was like there was a whole back story that I didn't know, something that would hold all of the answers. Something that lurked in the darkness.

We reached my house and Jake pulled the car into the driveway. It was only now that I realised Jake had no way of getting home.

"Hey, it's alright, you can drive home, I'll drive myself back," I assured him

"No." he said sternly, shaking his head. I looked at him, a little surprised by his tone.

"Don't be silly, how are you going to get home?" I questioned

"I'll walk."

"Not this late you wont," I disagreed looking at the clock.

"You're in no condition to drive." Jacob argued. I turned to him

"I'm fine. I'm just shocked as to how Bella looked. I'm just over reacting," I admitted

"To what?"

"Everything!" I shot at him "I don't know what it is but something seems to be wrong with me!" I confessed

"I don't see anything except you're suddenly worrying about everything,"

"Because I'm over reacting!" I repeated, a little bit angry now.

"If you know you're over reacting then why are you still doing it?" Jacob demanded. I frowned

"I don't know," I answered before sitting back in my chair with a sigh.

"You weren't like this a few days ago." Jacob muttered "Even Embry said you seemed a little off," I looked at him confused before frowning

"That's cause my stomach wasn't churning a few days ago. I didn't have a bad feeling that something bad was going to happen."

"The Cullens leaving is bad?" Jacob questioned. I looked at him

"It is when it sends one my best friends into depression."

"She's not in depression"

"Not yet," I hissed "Jacob you didn't see the two of them together. They were one and the same. They spent every waking moment together, when I spoke to Bella it was probably the main topic we spoke about. You have no idea how much she truly liked him. I saw it every day, the feelings behind their relationship. It was like something that only happened in movies. Perfect, in a way.

"For Edward to live leave like that… it's probably eating at her. Crushing her. For god sake she wondered off into the woods because of it! And Bella's not stupid, especially with all these hikers getting killed. I'm sorry, but her actions were not Bella." I rambled a little, but my point remained the same. This wasn't like Bella. Jacob took a deep breath and just looked at me. "Come on. Would you follow someone so deep into the forest you got lost?" I asked softly "Especially if you didn't feel extremely strong towards them?" he didn't answer me. I took a deep breath.

"I'm not letting you walk home." I said again, getting back onto the original topic at hand. "You can stay here for the night," I allowed and I got out of the car. Jacob didn't move from his seat as I walked around the car but I could feel his eyes on me. I opened his door before he could and took the keys out. I stood by the open door and waited for him to get out. He stared at me for a minute but I just held his gaze. Eventually he sighed and got out. I shut the door and he smiled at me. I don't know why but that smile made me feel better and I smiled back.

"Now, was that so hard?" I smirked. He rolled his eyes and we walked towards my house. Luckily we had a guest room, so I set it up for Jake before saying good night. He gave me a hug before I could leave the room.

"Sleep well," he mumbled

"You too," I said before leaving him be and walking up to my bedroom, getting changed. As I passed my window I noticed a faint glow in the darkness. I looked out and stared at it for a while before realising it was a bonfire, being set high on the cliffs.

I frowned. Now that Jacob had reminded me of the stories I remembered that the Quileutes had their superstitions about the Cullens, there were some people, like Billy — and typically my father — who believed these stories to be true. They must have been celebrating that the Cullens had left and therefore weren't here anymore.

I shut my curtains over my window to block out the distraction and climbing into bed.

I laid there and thought. For some reason, after seeing Jacob's smile, I felt like the weight that's been weighing me down since Bella's birthday, lifted. I felt like I could breath properly, and I smiled. Though I knew Bella was going to be inconsolable for a while and that made my smile fade again. How could Edward do this to her? I didn't understand how he could do it to himself either. It just didn't seem right.

I drifted off into unconsciousness and, for the first time all summer, it was peaceful and black. There were no dreams.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 3: 

Things didn't get better after that. Bella was, as I'd predicted, inconsolable, but what I didn't expect was that she'd go into a shell and shut herself away. She didn't talk to anyone, she didn't say a word. She didn't smile, or frown, or laugh, or… nothing. She was a walking statue.

Bella had started sitting by herself at the Cullen's old table, the one Rosalie, Emmett, Alice Jasper and Edward sat at before Bella moved here, in the corner of the cafeteria away from everyone. She'd just sit there and stare out the window all lunch time. She didn't seem to pay attention in any of her classes, though she was somehow passing them all.

She didn't speak to me any more, just like she didn't speak to anyone, but I think, out of everyone, I was taking that the hardest. She'd only been back a year, I'd only spent a year with her since her last visit. I thought we'd grown close, that she could trust me. I guess not. Although that idea died a little bit after she started dating Edward, she still told me things and that made me smile. Now, I hadn't heard her speak in weeks.

This didn't just make me upset. It made me angry. Angry at Edward Cullen for just ditching her like that. For throwing her to the side like an old rag.

Embry, Quil and Jake had already heard my complaints about Edward. They already didn't like him, the main reason being because he put Bella in the hospital (sort of) once before and he was the mystery of the legends, though the boys didn't believe that. Plus he'd greased Jacob off when Jake had gone to talk to Bella during her prom last year. So they didn't mind my ranting.

I also complained to James and Leah… a lot. Leah didn't like how weak Bella was being and especially didn't like how she was cutting me out. I shrugged and reminded her that she'd been through something just as bad. Leah had shown some sympathy after that.

I personally didn't know what Bella was going through. I didn't understand why she shut herself away from everyone like that. It was like her entire mind and body went numb and she wasn't really here anymore. She didn't feel anything. She didn't see anything. Nor did she care about anything.

I don't think Bella realised how worried she'd made Charlie. You could see how hard she was trying not to upset anyone, but that only made it worse. We'd invited them both over to dinner several times, along with Billy, Jake and the Clearwaters. Charlie had come eagerly, but Bella always refused and stayed home. During those times Charlie had gone on about how Bella was at home. During the day she wasn't much different then how she was at school, but at night… Charlie said Bella screamed in her sleep. Screamed from a recurring nightmare she had ever single night, waking him up in the pitch black.

It was worrying Charlie senseless. He didn't know what to do. It was like he was living with a ghost and he was extremely worried about her. He'd asked me to try and do something, and believe me, I'd tried a lot. But I had to keep reminding Charlie, I hadn't been through what she was going through. I didn't know how to comfort her. I didn't know what she wanted to hear and what she didn't. Charlie had only thanked me and moved on after about a month of this.

This lasted for about four months. For four months I hardly heard Bella speak to anyone. I had to sit there and watch her bottle everything up and suffer alone, without being able to help her. Four months of nothing. Four months of Charlie's worrying. Four months of my mother's worrying. Four months of Jacob's worrying. Four months that felt like nothing but depression and sadness. The only time I felt like I could enjoy myself was when I was with my three musketeers. Though this only lasted until someone mentioned her and I frowned.

Both worried and annoyed by her behaviour. I tried not to worry. I tried not to feel like I had to do something, but I couldn't help it. I'd even tried ignoring it, but then I just felt insensitive towards what she was going through, so that didn't work either.

What was the most sad and hurtful was that Bella looked like she was waiting for Edward to come back, no matter what, she just couldn't let him go. She couldn't do it. So she sat still, didn't talk and pushed everyone away from her. She refused to listen to talk that reminded her of the Cullens, so she started isolating herself.

This wasn't the answer to her problems. It was just making her wallow in her own sorrows and making her condition worse.

In those four months we had the winter holidays. And boy was it winter. The snow fell and covered all of Forks and LaPush. No one dared go near the ocean, though Embry and Jacob had managed to push me in, unfortunately. I had a cold for about a week and they didn't do it again. Though they came and nursed me as they believed it was their fault. Which it was.

Christmas was awesome! We went sledding for a bit, decorated a huge tree out in my backyard — as Jacob, James, Embry, Quil and I were experts at tree climbing. Covered Jacob's entire house in lights and tinsel, much to Billy's annoyance as we did his wheelchair as well and his house was like a beacon. I eagerly helped the Clearwaters with their decorations and Seth ended up covered in snow when Leah and I accidentally knocking him over.

There was a snowman in every one of our backyards, all identical except for the coloured scarf. One in my backyard, one in Leah's, Jacob's, Quil's and Embry's. Jacob and I had snuck around to Bella's house and built one outside her window too, but I don't think she actually noticed it. Charlie did and he thanked us for the thoughtfulness.

Leah and I went on a shopping spree for the entire day, buying gifts for everyone. Which was a lot. I think in total I bought about over thirty gifts. Which is a lot for a small town. The party we had on new years eve kept the entire neighbourhood up. And we had it on the beach. We had a bonfire and music, and alcohol. It was wilder then my birthday party, which was saying something.

I'm not sure what happened, I can't remember anything after two in the morning, only that I woke up in my room with Embry on the floor with James, and Quil and Jacob were in my bed with me. I asked mum what happened and she just laughed at me. I think I ended up having a make out session with quite a few people, but… I don't really remember. Oh well, you can't change the past and — other then the parts I don't remember — it was actually an amazing night. Better then the years before that is.

School started again and everything went back into it's usual pattern. Routines fell back into place and the fun sort of died away as the snow melted. Spring came but the cold weather stayed, especially the icy wind.

After the holidays ended, my worrying over Bella seemed to have cooled off a little. I didn't look for her ute every morning with worry that she'd run off somewhere to find Edward or something now. At lunch I always looked towards the table just to see how she was now. It didn't help but, it was all I could really do. I'd learnt that.

Turned out Charlie realised he couldn't do anything any more either. He'd told my dad and Billy that he couldn't do it, that it wasn't good for her to be here anymore. He was going to send her back to her mother in Jacksonville. My heart dropped then, probably the last time I was going to see her was when she was so closed off and emotionless. But if it did her good, then I guess that's what mattered most.

This was what I was worrying about as I drove to school. I didn't care if she hardly spoke, I was going to ask her about it. Ask her if she was leaving or not.

I pulled into the Forks High School car park and noticed Bella's truck already there, which was weird as I was early myself, annoyed at hanging around the house after having woken up too early. Mum had told me she'd drive James for she had the morning off work this morning so I was allowed to come without him annoying me about being at school to early.

I parked my car and got out before walking over to Bella's car. She was sitting in it, in the drivers seat. I looked in to notice a book in her hands, a calculous book. Bella had been getting better at it and I guessed all the spare time she had recently was the reason. I was about to knock on the window but I knew I'd make her jump.

_"For old times sake,"_ I decided before wrapping my knuckles on the window. Bella did jump and turned to look at me. I couldn't keep the smile off of my face as she opened the window. I rested my arms on the frame.

"Hey," I greeted

"Hey," she said still a little surprised about my sudden interest in talking to her again

"Sorry for frightening you," I muttered. She shook her head "How you doing?"

"Fine." she answered, as always.

"So… Charlie told my dad," Bella rolled her eyes before I'd even finished "Are you leaving?" I wondered

"No." she said forcefully. I grinned

"I thought you didn't like Forks?"

"It's fine. I'm used to it now." Bella said, her dead voice back in place again.

"That's something I never thought I'd hear you say," I admitted "So, what did you do to get Charlie off of you back?" I wondered

"Told him I was going to the movies this evening." Bella mumbled. I looked at her surprised

"You're going out?" I wondered. She nodded, a look on her face that said it wasn't a big deal. "Sorry, just after all your quiet time, it's a little surprising." I answered her look. She sighed and looked at her calculous book again

"Who's going with you?" I wondered

"I was going to ask Jessica. At least if she comes I won't really need to pay attention." Bella confessed. So she was still telling the truth to me then, she always did I guess… well, unless it concerned Edward. I giggled

"That I understand, but if you're seeing a movie you shouldn't have to talk." I smirked, Bella shrugged

"This is Jess,"

"Good point," I nodded

"Lexi," Bella said. I was surprised by that, not only had she not spoken to me but I hadn't heard my name leave her mouth, let alone my nickname

"Yeah?" I asked surprised

"If Jess doesn't come, will you?" she wondered. At first I was a little upset I was her second pick, but then the part about her not wanting to actually pay attention to anything came back to my mind. Jess was the best person for that.

"Do you want me to talk to you?" I wondered. She shrugged

"Good, cause if you ask me, you shouldn't talk during movies." I smirked. I didn't care who she went with, as long as she did something. Anything.

"Thanks," she said silently. I nodded to her

"No problem. Tell me how it works out." I half asked before standing away from the ute. "See you later Bells," I smiled and walked towards the library.

_"Good one, Charlie."_ he might not see this as a plus, but it was. Bella leaving the house was going to be the first step to her getting better. If she started interacting with people again then she'd get better. She'd remember what it's like to smile and laugh instead of being in a daze all the time.

First hour began and I headed towards my first class, for once not worrying about whether Bella was actually normal again. Not worrying about whether James was skipping school again, the same with Jacob, Embry or Quil. Not caring about the last four months of unhappiness, just the good stuff. The thought that everything seemed like it was going to go back to normal, made me smile and I let out a sigh of relief.

Lunch rolled around and I saw Bella in the corridor, before she entered the cafeteria.

"Bella," I said, she jumped again as I brought her out of her daze. I smiled

"So? You going out tonight, or are we?" I wondered, not caring which one was the answer

"Jess said she'd go." Bella nodded. I almost jumped up and down and clapped my hands in excitement. But managed to refrain myself

"That's awesome," I nodded. Someone caught my hand and began to drive me away, I turned to see Hailey before turning back to Bella "Have fun." I called to her before waving.

"What are you doing?" Hailey questioned when we finally sat down at a table. Adrian, Oliver, Jordan and Valerie hadn't gotten here yet

"What do you mean?" I wondered

"You're talking to her?" she half questioned and half stated.

"Yeah?" I said confused

"You do remember the part where she didn't talk to you for months and worried you to death right?" Hailey reminded me

"Of course I do."

"Then why…"

"She's going out. She's leaving the house. She'd doing something," I explained, Hailey looked at me

"She's leaving the house?" she asked. I nodded

"Which means, she probably going to get better. Hopefully. And I'm not going to sit by while that happens. I guess she got past the depression part of grieving, and is moving towards the acceptance stage."

"You forgot bargaining," Hailey said plainly

"No one bargains with God anymore for his help." I waved the thought away and she rolled her eyes. Valerie joined us then and I immediately joined in on her conversation. She was as eager as ever to talk to me about what she and Oliver — they'd been going out since prom — had done lately, she always enjoyed to talk about them as a couple, as was Hailey when they went on double dates.

The day ended and I drove to James' school, turned the music on and sang along when a song that I knew played. When James got in the car he looked almost surprised, not completely though. I smiled at him and he rolled his eyes at me. Hey it wasn't my fault I cared about my friend's wellbeing.

I drove home and parked the car before going up the stairs to my room and emptying my bag. I grabbed my phone and headphones before I walked back down the stairs and towards the front door.

"James, I'm going for a walk." I called up. I heard a mumbled response before I opened the door and closed it again. Plugging my head phones in and humming along to the song I picked as I walked. The air was cold but it was nice against my face.

I walked often now, almost as often as I went to do some gymnastics, it was something to get my mind off of things. Today wasn't really that different, only I had a place I was headed too for once, instead of just walking till I ended up somewhere. Usually the beach.

"Oh Jake!" I called when the red house came into view. I knew he was home, one, because the car was still here and Billy couldn't drive himself, and two, because I could hear the laughter from the garage. So he wasn't alone. I jogged towards it but never reached it before about three pairs of arms wrapped around me. We tumbled to the ground and couldn't help but laugh

"But the hell, are you trying to kill me?" I asked, laughing as I did though.

"Sorry Lex, we didn't mean to push you over," Embry chuckled as he stood over me. Jacob was laughing next to me on the floor while Quil was kneeling over me.

"Yeah right." I said with a grin. Embry shrugged and offered me his hand. I took it and he hoisted me off of the ground. To be honest, I hadn't seen my boys for about a week. We'd all been busy really. After Jake spent about five minutes on the ground we finally got him standing. I stood looking at them all. It took me a minute to realise how much they'd grown. Not just in height, but in biceps. All three of them had muscles to spare.

"Dudes!" I said, they all looked at me confused "Are you all on steroids?" I accused before poking Embry's arm. They burst out laughing at me. Granted out of them all Quil probably was the less muscly but still, even he'd grown a lot.

"No, sorry to disappoint you Lexi," Jacob admitted

"Holy cow." I muttered trying to fit my hand around Embry's arm. I couldn't. Jacob started making muscle man posses, raising his arms, looking like superman and other comic book heros. We all laughed at him before we retreated into the garage.

"So why the unexpected visit?" Jacob wondered

"I can't come to visit once and a while?" I questioned

"Sure you can," Jacob shrugged. I saw his rabbit sitting in the garage and walked over to it.

"How you going on this?" I asked. Having Jacob as a best friend since I was three had it's prices. Like I knew more about cars and motorcycles then I really needed to.

"Not bad, I'm still missing a few parts though." Jacob sighed, I looked at him

"What kind of parts?" I wondered

"Look what you've done to her Jake, she's interesting in your car," Quil sighed. I smiled at him

"You mean what you've all done to me," I corrected

"We haven't corrupted you." Embry defended

"Don't pretend you don't love me for how I turned out," I smiled

"Yeah, imagine if she was a girl," Quil said. I picked up the oily dish cloth next to me and threw it at Quil's face. He just laughed at me as it hit it's mark. Unfortunately for Quil his face had been smeared with grease and it was my turn to laugh. Embry and Jacob looked at him and laughed too

"What?" he questioned, that was when he noticed all the grease on his hands from the cloth. "Oh great," he mumbled before disappearing into the house. I was still laughing as Jacob told me to slide under his car with him. I did so and he told me what he was missing and what could be replaced if possible.

"You know I could get some of this for you if you wanted," I suggested

"Do you have any idea how much half of it costs?" Jacob questioned. Embry crouched down beside the car

"A lot," he answered. I shrugged

"Shouldn't be to much of a problem."

"Where may I ask are you getting this money from?" Embry wondered

"Not that you remember but I do work in the local supermarket," I reminded them. They looked at me confused. "Okay so I only started working there a few weeks ago for some extra cash," I confessed. It was true, I had to much spare time on my hands and a job happily took up a few of those hours. The boys shook their heads and chuckled at me

"Even on that salary you wont get much." Jacob confessed as he slid out from under the car

"It's more then you earn," I reminded him "Plus just cause I wont get much now doesn't mean it's not possible. Haven't you ever heard of saving?" I asked. I felt someone grab my ankle and pull me out from under the car

"Course I have, I just don't understand why you'd want to spend it on car parts?" Jacob confessed as he looked down on me

"Well what else am I gonna spend it on?" I questioned. Jacob shrugged

"Clothes? Make up…"

"You make me sound like a real girly girl. I don't mind getting muddy remember." I admitted as I reminded them of our many mud fights in the rain. Both boys smirked at me as Quil came back outside.

"You alright now princess?" I asked, causing the two boys to crack up laughing and Quil to glare at me as I snickered.

I spent the rest of the day with the three boys and Billy ended up asking me to stay for dinner, which I happily agreed to. Though I ended up doing most of the cooking, but that was alright.

"So, what's the news on Bella?" Jacob wondered, breaking the current silence. I smirked at him before Billy looked at me too.

"Well…" I began and leaned forwards towards them "She went out tonight." both looked at me surprised. I nodded "To the movies,"

"That's good right?" Billy asked

"Hope so." I shrugged. To be perfectly honest I wasn't sure. But, a girl could dream couldn't she? "Any news on the bear?" I wondered changing the topic

"Not yet. We haven't found anything." Billy sighed, though I had to admit, he didn't sound all that disappointed. I glanced at Jacob but he just shrugged so I pushed the thought away.

I loved visiting the Black's house. It was so peaceful. Of course when the girls were here it wasn't but now, it was. The TV was always on and Jacob spent most of his time out or in the garage, even Billy managed to never be home. It was probably why I didn't visit often, because Jacob was always visiting me instead.

We finished dinner, ate some ice cream for dessert — well, Jake and I did — before Billy sat in front of the TV and I decided it was time for me to leave.

"You gonna be here tomorrow?" I asked

"Sure," Jacob shrugged

"Well, I have to go to my new job in the morning but I'll pop by and see how much of my help you need on your car," I smirked. Jacob rolled his eyes at me before giving me a hug.

"I'll see you tomorrow then," he declared

"Yes you will." I assured him "See you Billy." I said over his shoulder "Thanks for having me,"

"Always a pleasure Lexi, pop by again when ever." he called back. I smiled before waving to Jacob and jumping off of his porch, walking away from the house.

It was only now that I remembered I'd walked here in the first place. It was now dark and, with the clouds over head, it was difficult to see anything. I pulled my phone out of my pocket, putting one ear bud in my ear as I did and turned the torch on it on.

"One of the useful things they put in a phone," I smiled, though the camera's were useful too. The torch lit up the pathway towards my house nicely and I didn't fall over anything as I went.

About halfway between my house and Jacob's, I stopped. I sighed

"Oh course I'm going to start hearing things," I muttered after having heard a twin snap out of my good ear. I pulled my ear bud out and turned off my music before I continued to walk, this time keeping both ears open. I was not going to be one of those idiots who stopped walking and went looking for what ever made the noise. That was stupid and it annoyed me when I watched a movie that happened in. It just made the outcome predictable.

I didn't hear much else, but I didn't put my music back on as I walked at a steady pace. I refused to run and look like an idiot over one little sound. These were forests for gods sake, there was going to be animals in there.

I felt sort of proud for my assumptions and for not freaking out, but at the same time I knew I'd feel stupid if it did turn out to be something bad.

"Not likely," I assured myself again. My house came into sight, the front porch lights on and I took the opportunity to stop and look around. I couldn't see anything, naturally, it was pitch black after all. So I took a deep breath and tried to listen for something. Nothing. So I gave up and went inside, just guessing I'd imagined it.

"I'm home," I called

"You're back late," mum said as she poked her head around the corner of the kitchen

"Sorry, forgot I walked there." I shrugged and I kicked off my shoes

"You walked back in the dark alone?" my mother asked. She sounded worried for me

"Yeah? It's not the first time." I confessed with a shrug, not really understanding her worry.

"I know that, but with all these hikers getting killed…"

"Mum," I cut her off "Those were hikers in the middle of the bush. I was walking on the foot path." I assured her. She sighed

"I know. But you can't blame me for worrying."

"When I get home safe? Yeah I can." I smiled. She rolled her eyes at me before kissing my forehead.

"Welcome home," she said softly

"Thanks," I said before I turned away from her and walked upstairs towards my bedroom. When I got there, I couldn't help but look out the window, just to see if I saw anything. Though I didn't actually expect to. I shook my head at myself before sitting down at my desk and completing some of my homework.

It wasn't until around eleven thirty that my phone began to ring.

"Hello?" I answered

"She's crazy! She's absolutely crazy!" Jessica raged on the other end. Uh oh.

"Who is?" I questioned, though I already knew the answer.

"Bella!" I sighed, uselessly hoping that that wouldn't be the answer. "Next time she decides to go out. You can go with her!" Jessica continued. I could tell I wasn't the first person she'd called about this.

"What did she do?" I questioned with a sigh

"She walked up to a bar and started talking to four complete strangers! Strangers! They could have been drunk or psychos! They could have assaulted her!" Jessica raged "She just walked straight up to them and started talking before walking away again. You do not do that!" I just sat there and let Jessica rant for a second.

"What did she say?" I asked her when she paused

"She said she thought she knew one of them, but said she was wrong! So she did walk up to complete psychos!" Jessica babbled. Oh god. I thought Bella going out would be better. How wrong it seems that was.

"And then she said she had fun and it was a good night! She made me see a zombie movie! I'm going to have nightmares for ages! It was creepy." Jessica continued.

_"Well of course she made you watch a horror film, no way would she see a romance movie with all she's been through."_ I thought obviously, but I didn't interrupt Jessica's rambling.

"Plus she put on this awful rap music on the way there, at first I didn't mind cause I was trying to be nice because of her condition but then I just couldn't handle it. And after freaking me out and pulling a stunt like that I was just over her behaviour." Jessica said.

Her voice was sort of in the background. I knew Bella was upset, but I always believed she wasn't stupid. I mean, even if you thought you recognised someone, you wouldn't walk up to some strange men outside a bar just in case you were wrong. Bella had more sense then that… didn't she? Or had her depression pushed her into a new stage of idiocy?

"I was even surprised she spoke to me let alone asked me to go to the movies with her. But if I'd known she was going to scare me to death like that I never would have gone. Her stunt right there was much more scarier then any movie. I felt like I was going to whined up in on of those lame cop shows on TV." I only just realised Jessica was still talking "I do not understand what's going through her head?! I mean why can't she just get over him already. I swear that's what this is about. She'd totally just trying to get attention…" I was actually tempted to hang up on her when she said that.

_"Oh right cause you know exactly what she's going through."_ I felt like saying. Of course I couldn't because I didn't truly understand either, except that it was bad. I was now deciding on whether I should call Bella and find out what was going on while I held the phone just away from my ear to try and drown Jessica out. I didn't want to be rude and hang up, plus she might actually say something useful.

"… as if it wasn't bad enough when she stood in the middle of the street staring at them, at first I thought she was going to turn around and come back, like some sense had been knocked into her. Obviously I was so wrong because she only halted for a second before walking right up to them!" Jessica continued. I contemplated that. She halted. Like someone told her to stop type halted?

"What do you mean she stopped?" I wondered

"She stood in the middle of the road for some unknown reason for about a minute before she decided to continue on. She almost did turn around and come back, like she was contemplating going over to them or not. Obviously her brain's messed up cause she picked the wrong answer." Jessica explained. I sighed.

"Jeez Bella," I muttered. "Wow, sounds like you had quite the night."

"Yeah well next time, you can go, or anyone else can go with her. I'm not going again." and she hung up at me. I stared at the phone a little surprised she'd actually stopped talking, and hung up before rolling my eyes and plugging my phone on charge.

I looked at the clock and decided that it was time to call it a night and I changed before climbing into bed. I thought about what Jess had told me

"What the hell could be going through that child's head now?" I questioned.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 4:

I hated it when my alarm went off in the morning. Mainly because it was a Saturday and I didn't want to get up, but I guess that's the price I had to pay for getting a job.

I got up and ready before having some breakfast and making my way to my car, yawning as I went.

The drive there didn't last long enough and I pulled my work T-shirt on when I got to the supermarket before getting out and walking towards the back entrance.

The manager said that I was 'technically' still in training so if I needed any help to not hesitate to ask. I had to raise an eyebrow at that. It wasn't like this was my first shift after all. And come on, I mean, I'd been coming here to buy groceries since I was five, mum would bring me and James along with her, and then after I turned ten I'd come and do the shopping for her, so I knew where everything was. Plus a cash register wasn't difficult to use.

So I went back to staking shelves. And boy did that make the day drag. A few people come in and I directed them to where they needed to be when they asked for my help. The manager come around a few times, asking if I was alright or needed help.

"No, I'm fine, but thanks for your concern." had been my answer every time. I was grateful he was trying to help, better then some managers. But if I needed help, I'd go looking for it.

The morning passed slowly and lunch — which signalled the end of my shift — took forever to come. I had my eye on the clock ever since it hit eleven o'clock and the second hand took forever to make it around the clock face. The second it hit twelve though I was out the back door, pulling off my work shirt and throwing it into the back of my SUV.

I drove off back towards LaPush, but I past a diner on the way. Contemplated whether to stop until I was next to it, I decided it wouldn't hurt. I parked the car and walked in before ordering take out. I bought enough for four people before paying and thanking the waitress. I continued driving towards Jake's house, set on fulfilling my promise to help him today. My morning had been so boring that I needed to have some fun. My three musketeers were just the cure I needed.

Pulling up to Jake's house and grabbing the lunch I'd bought I walked around to the garage. When I entered, the only thing I could see where a pair of legs poking out from under the rabbit. I smirked and walked over to him, I grabbed his ankle and pulled him out. Jake stared at me shocked

"I brought gifts," I smiled holding up the bag of food. He beamed but then looked at the clock hanging on the wall

"Jeez, I didn't realise what the time was." he admitted, I laughed

"Naturally you got lost in your work," I smiled "Well at least one of us was having fun."

"How was work?" he wondered

"Sloooow." I said, dragging the word out

"Sounds like fun." he smirked

"Anything but," I sighed "But I got a good lunch out of it." I reminded him "Come on, I have enough for Billy too. Is he here?" I wondered

"Yeah, he's watching TV," Jacob nodded as he stood up "Well, he was when I left him last," I chuckled

"Nice job." he rolled his eyes at me before we walked into the house.

"Hey Billy," I greeted

"Alexis, nice to see you." he smiled widely

"You too," I confessed before holding up the lunch "I have food." I said

"Well it's good I haven't gotten around to lunch then isn't it." he said before wheeling himself into the kitchen and to the dinning table

"That it is," I nodded. I got the food out and just spread it out on the table before sitting down.

We all just picked at the food while eating it and talked for about an hour. Afterwards I cleaned up and put the left overs in the fridge before I went back outside with Jacob to help him on his rabbit.

"Isn't there something else you'd rather be doing?" he asked

"Like what?" I wondered as I held something under the car in place for him as he worked on fixing it into place

"I don't know," Jake shrugged "Anything but fixing the car?"

"Dude if you don't want me hanging out with you then…" I began with a smirk

"No, that's not it." he said immediately "I just don't see why you'd want to help with me to build a car," I looked at him confused

"You do remember I'm your friend right?" I asked, he grinned "I've known you since you were a year old and you've been playing with car things since then." I reminded him. "I know almost as much about them as you do." I smirked. Jacob rolled his eyes

"Only cause I taught you," he said cockily

"Well yeah, no one else was going to." I admitted "Other then Embry with his motor bike. No one else is boring enough to spend all their time doing such a thing."

"Ouch," Jacob chuckled "Boring huh?" he asked

"Only sometimes," I smirked. He leaned over and wiped grease on my face. I gapped at him, unable to move my hands to do something similar back. And he knew this. I glared at him, I didn't want to wipe it on my clothes so I just left it there. Jacob chuckled as he continued to tie the part into place. Naturally as soon as my hands were free I wiped them all over Jacob's face and rolled out from under the car away from him.

"That's it!" I heard him mutter over my laughter. I pulled my phone out as he got up from under the car and snapped the picture as soon as his face was visible. I laughed and he glared at me before standing up. I jumped out of the way as he tried to grab me.

I ended up running outside into the light rain as the shed was too small. Jacob's new muscles made him faster then he was before and he caught me a lot easier then usual, wiping his greasy hands on my face and arms in return. Naturally this wasn't the first time this had happened. I rubbed my hands on his top before he released me and just laughed as my hair slowly began to drip.

A noise in the distance caused me to stop and look up

"What?" Jacob wondered

"Can't you hear that?" I wondered, it was like a roaring sound. Jacob listened before his face showed recognition "Hey that's Bella's truck!" I realised and removed Jacob's arms from mine. I jogged back up to the house just in time to see Bella pull up. Jacob arrived next to me and I looked at him in time to see a huge smile spread over his face. I nudged his side and he looked down at me just in time to see me smirk at him. He actually blushed, a light colour that could only just be seen under his russet skin.

"Bella," he greeted when she jumped out of the truck.

"Hey Jacob," she smiled but she then stepped back to take a look at him "You grew again!" she accused in amazement. He laughed, his smile widening impossibly. I couldn't help but grin at the look on his face.

"Six-five," he announced with self-satisfaction.

"Is it ever going to stop?" Bella shook her head in disbelief. "You're huge." she was right, I couldn't rest my arm on his shoulder anymore compared to before.

"Still a beanpole, though." He grimaced. I smiled and walked up to Bella

"Hey Bells," I greeted. She looked a little surprised to see me and I was about to hug her before remembering about the grease. I giggled

"Never mind," I muttered

"What happened?" Bella questioned

"Jake wiped his hands on me," I shrugged. I pointed at him and Jacob grinned at her.

"Come inside! You're getting all wet." he realised.

He led the way, twisting his hair in his big hands as he walked. He pulled a rubber band from his hip pocket and wound it around the bundle.

"Hey, Dad," he called as he ducked to get through the front door. "Look who stopped by." I walked in behind him and walked to the kitchen to try and wash off the grease. Billy was in the tiny square living room, a book in his hands. He set the book in his lap and wheeled himself forward when he saw Bella.

"Well, what do you know! It's good to see you, Bella." they shook hands. "What brings you out here? Everything okay with Charlie?"

"Yes, absolutely. I just wanted to see Jacob — I haven't seen him in forever." I heard Bella answer. I smirked as I could practically imagine Jacob smiling like an idiot at those words.

"Can you stay for dinner?" Billy sounded eager

"No, I've got to feed Charlie, you know." Bella answered

"I'll call him now," Billy suggested. "He's always invited." I paused when I heard a laugh. Bella's laugh. It wasn't real but it was the fact that she was trying.

"It's not like you'll never see me again. I promise I'll be back again soon — so much you'll get sick of me." I grabbed a towel, now suspicious. What had Bella done now that was causing her to want to suddenly leave home so often? Billy chuckled in response.

"Okay, maybe next time."

"So, Bella, what do you want to do?" Jacob asked, jumping the gun and changing the subject. I walked out of the kitchen then, having gotten the majority of the grease off of my arms and face.

"Whatever. What were you doing before I interrupted?" Bella shrugged. It was strange, she seemed comfortable here, though I couldn't blame her, Jacob's house did have that feel to it. Jacob hesitated.

"Lexi and I were just working on my car, but we can do something else..." he decided giving me a look. I shrugged, I didn't mind.

"No, that's perfect!" Bella interrupted. "I'd love to see your car." I raised an eyebrow at her, Bella knew nothing about cars?

"Okay," Jacob said. He didn't sound like Bella had convinced him either. "It's out back, in the garage." Bella nodded before she waved at Billy.

"See you later." we turned and Jacob gave me a look, I just shrugged, I had no idea what was going through her head anymore.

A thick stand of trees and shrubbery concealed his garage from the house. The garage was no more than a couple of big preformed sheds that had been bolted together with their interior walls knocked out.

"What kind of Volkswagen is that?" Bella asked.

"It's an old Rabbit — 1986, a classic."

"How's it going?"

"Almost finished," Jacob said cheerfully. And then his voice dropped into a lower key. "My dad made good on his promise last spring." I rolled my eyes. Billy had bribed Jacob to go and ask Bella to break up with Edward, because of the legends he believed in. Of course she hadn't listened, but I guess now his worries weren't necessary.

"Ah," she said. Not at all sounding like she wanted to continue this conversation. I nudged Jacob and gave him a look. He leaned down so that I could reach his ear

"Do not mention Edward." I warned. He looked at Bella before nodding, understanding

"Jacob, what do you know about motorcycles?" Bella suddenly asked. I raised an eyebrow at her. Jacob shrugged.

"Some. My friend Embry has a dirt bike. We work on it together sometimes. Why?"

"Well..." Bella pursed her lips as she considered something.

"What did you do?" I asked worried. Bella looked a little guilty before she continued

"I recently acquired a couple of bikes, and they're not in the greatest condition. I wonder if you could get them running?" my mouth dropped open.

"Cool." Jacob seemed truly pleased by the challenge. His face glowed. "I'll give it a try." I looked at him like he was insane. Bella held up one finger in warning.

"The thing is," she explained, "Charlie doesn't approve of motorcycles. Honestly, he'd probably bust a vein in his forehead if he knew about this."

"That's an understatement. Bella he'd kill you," I warned her. She sighed with a nod

"Which is why he can't know," she told me "So you can't tell Billy."

"Sure, sure." Jacob smiled. "I understand." I hit my forehead

"I'll pay you," Bella continued. This offended Jake.

"No. I want to help. You can't pay me."

"Well... how about a trade, then?" Bella suggested "I only need one bike — and I'll need lessons, too. So how about this? I'll give you the other bike, and then you can teach me."

"Swee-eet." He made the word into two syllables.

"I'm sorry, am I the only one who sees a problem with this?" I asked. Bella frowned at me

"Sounds like fun," Jacob shrugged. I scowled at him

"Lex, you can't tell your dad either." Bella informed me

"You think I'm stupid? They'd kill us both." I confessed. Bella let out a sigh of relief. I sighed "This is insane," I muttered. I paused and looked at Bella "This wouldn't happen to have anything to do with what happened yesterday would it?" I questioned. Bella looked at me confused "Jess called me yesterday evening," Bella frowned at realising what I was talking about.

"Sorry about that," she muttered. Jacob looked at us confused

"Don't apologise to me, but is that what this is about?" I asked seriously. She shook her head immediately

"I just…" she hesitated. I held up my hands

"I don't want to know," I decided "But…" I paused "I'll only keep my mouth shut if you let me help?" I smirked. Bella looked at me surprised and Jacob smirked

"Couldn't resist could you?" he said nudging me.

"No," I sighed in confession. Jake laughed at me before turning to Bella

"So, when will you bring them down?" Bella bit her lip, embarrassed.

"They're in my truck now," she admitted.

"Great." He seemed to mean it.

"Will Billy see if we bring them around?" Bella worried. Jake winked at her.

"We'll be sneaky." I rolled my eyes before he looked at me

"Yeah, yeah, I got it," I muttered knowing what he wanted before they followed me out of the garage. We eased around from the east, sticking to the trees when we were in view of the windows, affecting a casual-looking stroll, just in case.

"You two seem to know exactly what you're doing…?" Bella confessed, whispering

"We've known each other since we were toddlers," I reminded her before I turned to grin at her "This isn't the first time we've snuck around one of our houses." Jacob grinned.

"Wait here," Jacob instructed Bella before he and I walked up to her truck. I unhitched the back and Jacob unloaded the bikes. I was surprised, he lifted them with ease. He looked at me and I raised an eyebrow

"Got enough muscles there?" I wondered. He smirked and winked at me and I just rolled my eyes at his response. We each rolled a bike into the shrubbery where Bella was waiting before we all walked down to the garage amongst the trees.

"These aren't half bad," Jacob appraised as we pushed them through the cover of the trees. "This one here will actually be worth something when I'm done — it's an old Harley Sprint."

"I'm impressed," I confessed

"That one's yours, then." Bella decided

"Are you sure?" Jacob wondered

"Absolutely." Bella nodded

"These are going to take some cash, though," he said, frowning down at the blackened metal. "We'll have to save up for parts first."

"We nothing," Bella disagreed. "If you're doing this for free, I'll pay for the parts."

"I don't know..." he muttered.

"I've got some money saved. College fund, you know." Jacob just nodded. This all made perfect sense to him.

"I'll pitch in," I decided "Gotta spend the extra cash I'm earning somehow." Bella was about to argue with me "Don't even bother." I ordered when I saw her open her mouth. As we skulked back to the makeshift garage Jacob and I took a look at the bikes.

"Lex, I didn't know you knew bikes?" Bella confessed

"Sort of hard not to when you grow up with boys," I smirked nodding my head at Jacob who grinned.

"Boys?" Bella wondered

"Yeah, some friends of Jake and I who go to the Res with my brother," I explained "They all have some sort of mechanic knowledge."

"Huh," Bella muttered

"So why motorcycles?" I asked Bella, she shrugged

"Just thought I needed a bit of a change. Something different." I sighed, not bothering to pick her up on her lie. I wondered if she even knew that I could tell when she was lying.

Jacob and I looked over the bikes and figured out the conditions they were in and what we needed to fix them. Jacob and I started pulling the first bike — the red one, which was destined for Bella — to pieces immediately. Jake opened up the passenger door of the Rabbit so Bella could sit on the seat instead of the ground.

While he worked, Jacob chattered happily, needing only the lightest of nudges from Bella to keep the conversation rolling. He updated Bella on the progress of his sophomore year, running on about his classes and his two best friends. I stayed silent for a while and it wasn't until Embry and Quil were mentioned that I started to interrupt Jacob and correct his stories

"Quil and Embry?" Bella interrupted. "Those are unusual names." Jacob and I chuckled, that wasn't the first time we'd hear that.

"Quil's is a hand-me-down," he began

"Yeah he's the… fifth, right?" I asked Jake who nodded "Quil Ateara V." I smirked.

"And I think Embry got named after a soap opera star." Jake continued and I couldn't help but snicker. "I can't say anything, though. They fight dirty if you start on their names — they'll tag team you." he confessed

"Good friends." Bella raised one eyebrow.

"No, they are. Just don't mess with their names." Just then a call echoed in the distance.

"Jacob?" someone shouted.

"Well that's not creepy," I muttered

"Is that Billy?" Bella asked.

"No." Jacob ducked his head, and it looked like he was blushing under his brown skin. "Speak of the devil," he mumbled, "and the devil shall appear." I grinned

"Better hope they didn't hear us," I admitted and Jake nodded

"Jake? Are you out here?" The shouting voice was closer now.

"Yeah!" Jacob shouted back, and sighed. We waited through the short silence until the two tall, dark-skinned boys strolled around the corner into the shed.

"Hey, guys," Jacob greeted them halfheartedly.

"Hey, Jake," Quil said without looking away from Bella. "Hi, there." he said

"Hey they boys," I smirked as I stood up. I walked over to Quil and gave him a hug before giving Embry one. He picked me up and spun me around.

"Well no surprise you're here." he smirked

"What can I say," I shrugged

"Quil, Embry, this is my friend, Bella." Jacob introduced. Quil and Embry exchanged a loaded look.

"Charlie's kid, right?" Quil asked her, holding out his hand.

"That's right," Bella confirmed, shaking hands with him.

"I'm Quil Ateara," he announced

"Nice to meet you, Quil."

"Hey, Bella. I'm Embry, Embry Call — you probably already figured that out, though." Embry smiled a shy smile and waved with one hand, which he then shoved in the pocket of his jeans. Bella nodded.

"Nice to meet you, too."

"So what are you guys doing?" Quil asked, still looking at Bella.

"Bella, Lexi and I are going to fix up these bikes," Jacob explained inaccurately. Bikes was the magic word of the day as both boys come to examine Jacob's project, drilling him with educated questions and me with pointers.

"You do remember that I grew up with you lot right?" I reminded them. They just grinned at me. We were still talking over the bikes when I heard a sigh and turned around, just in time to see Bella slide out of the Rabbit. Jacob looked up, apologetic.

"We're boring you, aren't we?"

"Naw." Bella shook her head "I just have to go cook dinner for Charlie." she reminded us

"Oh... well, I'll finish taking these apart tonight and figure out what more we'll need to get

started rebuilding them. When do you want to work on them again?" Jacob asked

"Could I come back tomorrow?" Bella bit her lip. Quil nudged Embry's arm and they exchanged grins. Embry, who was sitting next to me gave me a look, his eyes flickering between Bella and Jacob. I nodded, knowing what they were getting at. Jacob smiled in delight.

"That would be great!"

"If you make a list, we can go shop for parts," Bella suggested. Jacob's face fell a little.

"I'm still not sure I should let you pay for everything." Bella shook her head before I could jump in.

"No way. I'm bankrolling this party. You just have to supply the labor and expertise." Embry rolled his eyes at Quil.

"That doesn't seem right," Jacob shook his head.

"I'm with Jake," I admitted, but she kept shaking her head at me. I scowled at her

"Jake, if I took these to a mechanic, how much would he charge me?" Bella pointed out. He smiled.

"Okay, you're getting a deal."

"Not to mention the riding lessons," she added. Quil grinned widely at Embry and whispered something I bursted out laughing as Jacob's hand flashed out to smack the back of Quil's head.

"That's it, get out," he muttered. He turned to glare at me and I tried to stop my laughter but it was more difficult then I expected.

"No, really, I have to go," Bella protested, heading for the door. "I'll see you tomorrow, Jacob." As soon as Bella was out of sight, Quil and Embry chorus,

"Wooooo!" Jacob was on their backs and beating the two up within the second. I just sat on the ground laughing my head off at the them.

"If either of you set so much as one toe on my land tomorrow…" Jacob threaten. I didn't hear the rest, my laughter drowning him out.

"So what's going on with this anyway?" Quil asked as Jacob had Embry

"Come on…" I began but suddenly Jacob was on me now, his hand over my mouth. I glared at him

"Don't say a word!" he ordered. I removed his hand

"Come on Jake," I said but his hand was over my mouth again as he was kneeling over me. I glared at him hard, I don't know what it was, but something about my stare made his eyes widen and he got off of me.

"Fine I wont say anything." I grumbled sitting up "But it's kind of obvious," I mumbled.

"You two." Jacob turned to Embry and Quil who were still laughing "Out!" he ordered. The boys held their hands up in surrender.

"Bye boys," I waved

"See you Lex," they called as Jacob shoved them out of the garage. I sighed and shook my head at the three of them. I sat in the garage for a minute thinking while I waited for them to come back. What the boys had said resurfaced in my mind, I thought it over and after a minute, I felt guilty. I'd invited myself to hang out with Bella and Jacob, when Jake probably didn't want that…

Jake walked back in not to long later, still grumbling about the boys. I watched him for a second before deciding to speak.

"Are you annoyed at me?" I wondered as he sat down. Jacob looked at me completely confused

"No? Why?" he questioned

"Because I might have ruined you chance to spend some one on one time with Bells," I confessed. Jacob blushed and I grinned, but the grin faded "Sorry, I only just realised I'd done that." Jacob started shaking his head immediately

"I wasn't thinking that…"

"Sure," I cut him off. He hit my shoulder lightly

"Will you shut up and let me finish," he scolded. I held my hands up in defence "I was really only just thinking about the fact that I get to spend time with her."

"Come on, Jake. You can't tell me you're not a little bit irritated about that. Just cause the boys don't know doesn't mean I don't notice it." he blushed again "I'm a girl, we notice these things and you've had a crush on that girl since you were like, what? Five?" I asked. Jacob shrugged but didn't deny it

"I don't mind," he said.

"I don't believe you. And cause I still feel annoyed at myself for it, I'm not going to come every time." I decided. Jacob looked at me surprised

"What if I need your help?"

"You've got Bella," I reminded him confused "That's the point."

"But she doesn't know what to do?"

"But she does have a second pair of hands," I said holding mine up "Just tell her what to do."

"But…"

"Dude! Just enjoy the fact that you, a) get to spend time with her and b) you get to do it while you're doing something you enjoy." I said pointing to the bikes. "Stop complaining."

"Well you seemed excited," Jacob admitted

"I'm also worried about Bella. She knows how her dad feels about bikes and he'd basically caused her to feel the same. Now she's suddenly decided to fix one up and ride it? And she's suddenly decided to come out of her shell. Ever since she decided to start interacting with people, which by the way was since last night, she's started being reckless. I just do not see the purpose in that." I explained

"What happened last night?" Jacob questioned remembering mine and Bella's conversation. I sighed

"She walked up to some random strangers drinking outside a bar in a deserted street. They could have been rapists or drug dealers, or psychopaths or all of the above. She just walked right up to them for no reason." I admitted. Jacob looked at me surprised "Like I said. Reckless."

"Should I have said no?" Jacob wondered, feeling a little guilty. I sighed

"No I don't think so. Even though she's being a little stupid, for some reason, I think getting her out of the house will do her good. And who better to make her feel better then cheerful Jacob Black?" I smirked. He grinned at me.

"If no one else could make her feel better though, then what makes you think I can?" Jacob asked, finally seeing what I meant

"Because Jake, you have this natural cheerfulness about you. You're always happy, I don't know what it is, but, it's just how your personality is." I shrugged, trying to explain it

"You're not much different," he thought

"I am," I disagreed "I have a little brother, I'm not as gentle." I smirked

"Ouch, more gentle then a girl," Jacob muttered.

"Only sometimes," I winked as I sat up and started to help him pull the bike apart some more.

"So, do you want me to come tomorrow?" I finally asked

"Sure, maybe you can talk Bella out of spending all her money." he sighed

"If anyone can, I can." I admitted and he chuckled at me.

"You even got enough?" he wondered. I looked at him

"Are you doubting me?" I questioned. He shook his head

"No. Just curious."

"Yeah right," I mumbled, but he only smirked at me.

I woke up the next morning very stiff and sore. It wasn't until I opened my eyes that I figured out why. I was blinded by a light at first and it took a while for my eyes to adjust before I looked around. I was still in Jacob's garage. I sat up and my back cracked

"Shit," I muttered. I was sitting in his Rabbit in the passenger seat, stretched out over the drivers side too. I heard a snore and turned around to see Jacob sleeping in the back, only he was much to large for the space and his legs were hanging out the side. I smirked and felt around for my phone before I snapped a photo.

"These are gonna make great 21st pictures." I grinned. I leaned over to the steering wheel and beeped the horn. The entire car rocked when Jacob jolted up awake, I fell on my face from the force of the shake.

"Ouch," I complained

"Shit, Lexi are you alright?" Jacob asked

"Yep. I'm okay." I assured him getting back up again. I yawned and rubbed my eyes "Jeez, I don't remember falling asleep?" I confessed. Jacob chuckled at me

"Well it was before me," he promised. I thought before realising something

"Hey can I see your phone?" I wondered. He bursted out laughing and I scowled at him

"You really think I'd fall for that?" he asked

"I was hoping so," I muttered. If I'd taken one of him just now, there was no doubt in my mind that he took some of me last night. I looked at the floor of the garage to see the pieces of the motorbikes laid out, nicely arranged, on the floor.

"Nice job." I complimented. I remembered Jacob pulled the bikes apart while I organised everything so we'd know exactly were everything went later.

"Yeah but we're missing quite a bit," Jacob sighed

"Isn't that what today's for?" I asked. He smirked and nodded. "Speaking of which I need food before we leave." I decided. I stood up to get out of the car but basically stumbled out instead. Luckily for my my gymnastics kicked in and I landed safely on my feet as I did a tumble. Jacob whistled

"9/10 for a first in the morning thing," he complimented

"Thanks." I smiled before yawning again. Jacob stretched before he got up and we walked into the house.

"Well aren't you up early," Billy said, I looked at the clock

"No earlier then normal." I thought. Billy looked at me for a second before he realised what I meant

"Sleep over again did you?" he smirked

"Accidentally," I nodded. He chuckled at me "You had breakfast? Cause I'm making some." I decided

"No, not yet,"

"Good." I walked straight into the kitchen, tied my now messy hair back and began to cook scrambled eggs and bacon. While we were eating the phone rang and Billy wheeled himself to collect it.

"Oh hello Charlie," he answered. Jacob and I paused to listen

"No, I'm not busy… That sounds like a splendid idea. Sure, I'll see you later." and he hung up the phone.

"What was that about?" Jacob wondered when Billy reentered the room.

"Charlie's arranged for Harry to come and pick me up so that we can all watch the game together. Seeing as Bella is coming here it should be fun." he smiled. Jacob and I shared a look before we continued to eat.

I used the comb I kept here especially for such accidental sleep overs as these to comb my messy hair. We were planning on going to the dump first today and I was expecting to get a little messy, so I didn't bother with much else except getting my mother to drive down here and bring me a fresh pair of clothes. Which she did gratefully. Turned out my dad was going to join Charlie, Billy and Harry while she was going to Sue's.

"Have fun." I said as she left

"You too." she kissed my cheek before getting back into the car and leaving. I quickly got changed before the sound of Bella's truck could be heard.

"Jeez, you can hear that thing from a mile away." I smirked as I entered the living room.

"Hey she can never sneak up on us," Jacob shrugged. He grabbed an umbrella as the rain had decided to pour down on us today before he walked outside to meet Bella. They came inside and I said hey to Bells before we dawdled around in Jacob's small room as we waited for Billy to leave.

"So where to, Mr. Goodwrench?" Bella asked as soon as the door closed behind Billy. Jacob pulled a folded paper out of his pocket and smoothed it out.

"We'll start at the dump first, see if we can get lucky. This could get a little expensive," he warned us. "Those bikes are going to need a lot of help before they'll run again." Bella's face didn't look worried enough, so he continued. "I'm talking about maybe more than a hundred dollars here." Bella pulled a check book out of her pocked, fanned herself with it, and rolled her eyes at Jacob's worries.

"We're covered."

"Good thing we wont need to use that much." I smirked. Bella went to argue but I glared at her "But cause it's your project I'm not buying everything, so stop complaining. I'm allowed to pitch in my share." I said. I gave her a look, encouraging her to argue with me. Bella just sighed. Jacob looked impressed before we got into Bella's truck and set off on our little self assigned mission.

Jacob sat between Bella and I in Bella's truck, naturally Jacob took up the most room but none of us managed to be squished. It wasn't difficult for both Jacob and I to notice the gaping hole in Bella's dashboard. I could have sworn she'd gotten a new one for her birthday though…

"Did the stereo break?" Jacob wondered.

"Yeah," Bella lied. I frowned, it must have been given to her by one of them. Jacob poked around in the cavity.

"Who took it out? There's a lot of damage..." he noticed

"I did," Bella admitted. He laughed.

"Maybe you shouldn't touch the motorcycles too much."

"No problem." When we reached the dump and got out of the car it was slopping with rain and we were ankle deep in mud. It didn't take long before I had mud on my face for Jake deciding to be funny. Because we still needed to go out after that we kept it quite clean and sophisticated so no mud was thrown.

We got quite lucky at the dump. Jacob was very excited about several grease-blackened pieces of twisted metal that he found. From there we went to the Checker Auto Parts down in Hoquiam. In Bella's truck, it was more than a two hour drive south on the winding freeway, but the time passed easily with Jacob in the car. He chattered about his friends and his school, telling Bella all about it. I sat there and let him talk to her, it was interesting to listen to his version of the memories. Naturally though Jacob wouldn't let me listen to it all as he included me in the conversations because I was in two thirds the stories he was telling. I was surprised when Bella started asking questions, she usually just nodded and let the person talk so that she didn't need to actually listen.

"I'm doing all the talking," Jacob complained after a long story about Quil and the trouble he'd stirred up by asking out a senior's steady girlfriend. "Why don't you take a turn? What's going on in Forks? It has to be more exciting than La Push." I let out a laugh as Bella answered

"Wrong," she sighed. "There's really nothing. Your friends are a lot more interesting than mine. I like your friends. Quil's funny."

"Got that right, never a dull moment with him around," I smirked, earning a nod from Jacob, though he frowned before speaking

"I think Quil likes you, too." Bella laughed.

"He's a little young for me."

_"Ouch,"_ I thought when I saw Jacob's frown deepen.

"He's not that much younger than you. It's just a year and a few months." Bella kept her voice light, teasing.

"Sure, but, considering the difference in maturity between guys and girls, don't you have to count that in dog years? What does that make me, about twelve years older?" He laughed, and both of us rolled our eyes.

"Okay, but if you're going to get picky like that, you have to average in size, too. You're so small, I'll have to knock ten years off your total."

"Five foot four is perfectly average." Bella sniffed. "It's not my fault you're a freak."

"Plus, you've got to add in skill too," I put in "And I think I out rank you both for that."

"No way," Jacob argued with me

"Let's see, I'm smart, so I have brains. I'm flexible and have good balance. Plus I know motorcycles and cars." I listed on my fingers. They both gave me a look

"Fine," they muttered. I laughed but it didn't end there, we continued to add and subtract years based on different things. We bantered like that till Hoquiam, still arguing over the correct formula to determine age — Bella lost two more years because she didn't know how to change a tire, though that gave me two. But she gained one back for being in charge of the bookkeeping at her house — until we were in Checker, and Jacob had to concentrate again. We found everything left on his list, and Jacob felt confident that he could make a lot of progress with our haul. He spoke to me a lot about the pieces as we collected them, and I felt like we were leaving Bella out a little there.

Bells and I both paid for the parts as I wouldn't let her pay for them all. Before we got back in the car.

By the time we got back to La Push, Bella was twenty-three, Jacob was thirty — he was definitely weighting skills in his favour — but I won — for the moment — on thirty-five for my amount of skills.

Billy wasn't back yet, so we didn't have to be sneaky about unloading our day's spoils. As

soon as we had everything laid out on the plastic floor next to Jacob's toolbox, he and I went right to work, Jacob still talking and laughing while his fingers combed expertly through the metal pieces in front of him. Bella lent us a hand every now and then when our's were tied but other then that she mainly handed up tools and listened to Jacob babble on.

Quil and Embry did not show up, so his threat yesterday seemed to have been taken seriously. Which was smart of them as Jacob might have killed them both.

The day passed too quickly. It got dark outside the mouth of the garage before we was

expecting it, and then we heard Billy calling for us.

Bella jumped up to help Jacob and I put things away, though she hesitated because she wasn't sure what she should touch.

"Just leave it," Jacob said. "I'll work on it later tonight."

"Don't forget your schoolwork or anything," Bella said, looking a little guilty.

"I'll make sure he get's it done." I promised

"You're not staying over again?" he questioned almost in a whine. I whacked him

"Not staying with you," I grumbled before he grinned and I poked my tongue out at him.

"Bella?" All our heads snapped up as Charlie's familiar voice wafted through the trees, sounding closer than the house.

"Shit." I swore. Bella was better at her words

"Shoot," she muttered. "Coming!" she yelled toward the house.

"Let's go." Jacob smiled, obviously enjoying the cloak-and-dagger. He snapped the light off. Jacob and I walked easily through the dark, having done it too many times before. Bella wasn't as lucky so Jacob grabbed her hand and towed her out of the garage and through the trees, his feet finding the familiar path easily.

Despite the path, we were all still tripping over our feet in the darkness. So we were also laughing when the house came into view. The laughter did not go deep; it was light and superficial, but still nice. Charlie was standing under the little back porch, and Billy was sitting in the doorway behind him.

"Hey, Dad," Both Jacob and Bella said at the same time, and that started us laughing again. Charlie stared at Bella with wide eyes that flashed down to note Jacob's hand around Bella's. It was then that I noticed how happy Bella actually was.

"Billy invited us for dinner," Charlie said to them in an absentminded tone.

"My super secret recipe for spaghetti. Handed down for generations," Billy said gravely. Jacob snorted.

"I don't think Ragu's actually been around that long."

"Plus it's not much of a secret, I mean both my mum and I know it off by heart," I smirked, causing Bella to actually giggle. We walked inside to find that we weren't the only one's here. The Clearwaters and my family were here too. I saw Leah and immediately pulled her into a hug. I chatted with Seth for a minute, messing up his hair when I saw him before I introduced them both to Bella.

There were too many of us for the kitchen table, so Charlie and Harry brought chairs out to

the yard, and we ate spaghetti off plates on our laps in the dim light from Billy's open door.

The men talked about the game, and Harry and Charlie made fishing plans. Sue teased her husband about his cholesterol and tried, unsuccessfully, to shame him into eating something green and leafy. Jacob talked mostly to Bella, Seth, James and I, Seth interrupted eagerly whenever Jacob seemed in danger of forgetting him. Leah was on the phone to someone most of the night and although she apologised, I didn't mind and waved her apologies away. I noticed Charlie watching Bella, trying to be inconspicuous about it, with pleased but cautious eyes.

It was loud and sometimes confusing as everyone talked over everyone else, and the laughter from one joke interrupted the telling of another. It was the same as it usually was and I looked at Bella every now and then to see how she was keeping up, only to always see a smile on her face.

This was Washington, though, and the inevitable rain eventually broke up the party; Billy's

living room was much too small to provide an option for continuing the get-together. Harry

had driven Charlie down, so he and Bella rode together in Bella's truck on the way back home. I said good bye to her and she thanked me for a good day, Jake too but I only thanked her back.

We said goodbye to everyone else before Dad drove James and mum home while I followed in my car. I was actually exhausted, and more then usual, which was saying something as I usually spent the day with Jacob, Embry and Quil.

Even though I was tired I finished the homework I'd forgotten about over the weekend before climbing into bed. Sleep consumed me and I didn't awake until the annoyance of my alarm woke me up the next morning.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 5:

"Morning Bells," I greeted happily the next morning in the parking lot at school. She smiled at me

"Morning Lexi,"

"Sleep well?" I wondered

"Not last night," she sighed

"Last night? Was there an exception?" I wondered

"Yeah, Saturday night was peaceful." she smiled. I grinned.

After that I noticed that Bella was actually starting to pay attention to everyone, trying to get back into school. It wasn't working for her well as her friends were used to her ignoring them.

"Hey," I said at lunch when I saw her "How's your day been?"

"Awful." she grumbled

"Why?" I questioned

"I feel like I'm invisible," she confessed

"Why?" I asked again

"No one seems to see me,"

"It's not that they don't see you Bells, they just think you're not paying attention and wont answer. It's what you've been doing for months." I confessed "Same with your friends, they don't bother talking to you cause you don't listen." I shrugged. She looked guilty

"Was I that bad?"

"Well… to everyone but me, I think I got the most answers out of you," I confessed

"Sorry," she muttered. I shook my head

"Wasn't your fault… entirely," I smirked. She smiled

"Want me to sit with you? That way I can talk to you if they don't," she looked like she debated over the offer before nodding sheepishly. I smiled and we walked over to the unusually full table. Mike was there, Jessica and Angela, Conner, Tyler, Eric and Lauren. Katie Marshall, the redheaded junior who lived around the corner from Bella, was sitting with Eric, and Austin Marks was next to her.

No one looked at Bella when we sat down, Bella next to Mike and me on her other side. I received a few hellos and smiles but Bella was right, it was like she was invisible, even though the chair squealed stridently against the linoleum as she dragged it back no one looked at her.

"Wow, you weren't kidding," I muttered to her. She sighed and nodded.

"Where's Ben today?" Lauren was asking Angela. Bella turned to listen immediately.

"Ben's got the stomach flu," Angela said in her quiet, calm voice. "Hopefully it's just some

twenty-four hour thing. He was really sick last night."

"What did you two do this weekend?" Jessica asked, not sounding as if she cared about the answer. I'd bet that this was just an opener so she could tell her own stories.

"We were going to have a picnic Saturday, actually, but... we changed our minds," Angela

said. There was an edge to her voice that caught my interest. Jess, not so much.

"That's too bad," she said, about to launch into her story. But I wasn't the only one who was paying attention.

"What happened?" Lauren asked curiously.

"Well," Angela said, seeming more hesitant than usual, though she was always reserved, "We drove up north, almost to the hot springs — there's a good spot just about a mile up the trail. But, when we were halfway there... we saw something."

"Saw something? What?" Both Lauren and I asked. Lauren's pale eyebrows pulled together. Even Jess seemed to be listening now. But that wasn't what interested me, I suddenly remembered the day I was driving not too long ago, and I saw the shape next to me.

"I don't know," Angela said. "We think it was a bear. It was black, anyway, but it seemed… too big." Lauren snorted.

"Oh, not you, too!" Her eyes turned mocking "Tyler tried to sell me that one last week."

"You're not going to see any bears that close to the resort," Jessica said, siding with Lauren.

"Really," Angela protested in a low voice, looking down at the table. "We did see it." Lauren snickered. Mike was still talking to Conner, not paying attention to the girls.

"No I agree with her," I said just as Bella opened her mouth. I felt bad as everyone turned to me as I ate a bit more of my lunch. "I saw something too, but I wasn't even near a trail."

"Where were you?" Angela wondered

"Driving into LaPush. I saw something next to me, running and I slammed my foot on the break. Now that I think about it, I forgot about that." I confessed. Lauren didn't seem to believe me,

"Come on, did you even see anything?" she asked. I glared at her.

"You doubting me?"

"Well did you see anything?"

"Obviously I did or I wouldn't have brought it up." I argued. Others might put up with her attitude but I refused too. She seemed surprised that I did argue back.

"No, they're right," Bella threw in impatiently. "We had a hiker in just Saturday who saw the bear, too, Angela. He said it was huge and black and just outside of town, didn't he, Mike?" There was a moment of silence. Every pair of eyes at the table turned to stare at Bella in shock. The new girl, Katie, had her mouth hanging open like she'd just witnessed an explosion. Nobody moved. Bella looked at me a little awkwardly before turning to Mike

"Mike?" she muttered, mortified. "Remember the guy with the bear story?"

"S-sure," Mike stuttered after a second. He was staring at Bella completely stunned. Mike recovered. "Yeah, there was a guy who said he saw a huge black bear right at the

Trailhead — bigger than a grizzly," he confirmed.

"Hmph." Lauren turned to Jessica, her shoulders stiff, and changed the subject. I pulled a face at her back and Bella smirked at me. I winked.

"Did you hear back from USC?" Lauren asked Jessica. Everyone else looked away, too, except for Mike and Angela. Angela smiled at Bella tentatively, and she hurried to return the smile.

"So, what did you do this weekend, Bella?" Mike asked, curious, but oddly wary. Everyone but Lauren looked back, waiting for her response.

"Friday night, Jessica and I went to a movie in Port Angeles. And then I spent Saturday

afternoon and most of Sunday down at La Push with Alex." I smiled at her. The eyes flickered to Jessica and back to Bella. Jess looked irritated. I wondered if she didn't

want anyone to know she'd gone out with Bella as no one seemed to know that she did, or whether she just wanted to be the one to tell the story.

"What movie did you see?" Mike asked, starting to smile.

"Dead End — the one with the zombies." Bella grinned in encouragement.

"I heard that was scary. Did you think so?" Mike was eager to continue the conversation.

"Bella had to leave at the end, she was so freaked," Jessica inserted with a sly smile. Bella nodded, trying to look embarrassed.

"It was pretty scary." she sent me a smile and I winked at her.

Mike didn't stop asking her questions till lunch was over. Gradually, the others were able to start up their own conversations again, though they still looked at Bella a lot. Angela talked mostly to Mike and Bella. I mostly stayed silent, quite content with the fact that Bella was talking to her friends again, and that they were talking back. When we got up to dump our trays, Angela came too.

"Thanks," she said in a low voice when we were away from the table.

"For what?" Bella and I chorused.

"Speaking up, sticking up for me." she said

"No problem."

"No way was Lauren going to have the final say." I smiled. We fell into silence and Angela looked at Bella with concern, but not the offensive, maybe-she's-lost-it kind.

"Are you okay?" she asked

"Not completely," Bella admitted. "But I'm a little bit better."

"I'm glad," she said. "I've missed you." Lauren and Jessica strolled by us then, and we heard Lauren whisper loudly,

"Oh, joy Bella's back." Angela rolled her eyes at them, and smiled at Bella in encouragement.

"One day I'm going to slap her," I said simply "And I'm not a violent person." silence dawned again before Bella spoke

"What's today's date?" she wondered suddenly.

"It's January nineteenth." Angela answered

"Hmm."

"What is it?" Angela asked.

"It was a year ago yesterday that I had my first day here," Bella mused.

"Nothing's changed much," Angela muttered, looking after Lauren and Jessica.

"I agree, I was just thinking the same thing." I smirked. It was almost like the last four months never happened.

* * *

"So, how's she doing?" Jordan asked when I sat down in Biology

"She's talking again," I shrugged in response while Bella was still at the door

"That's good?" he half asked. I rolled my eyes at him

"Yes it's good." I smiled. That was the end of that conversation as I drifted off. Angela's conversation really had reminded me of that evening. But what I had seen was definitely not a bear. Like I'd thought then, it was too graceful. I agree that it was huge but… And then there'd been the other night when I thought someone was following me home from Jacob's house. I still wasn't sure if I was over thinking things but, now that I thought about it, I don't think I was.

This bugged me, if it wasn't a bear, then what was it? What else could be huge, but graceful like that? And close to human civilisation. Animals didn't do that unless they were frightened by something that caused them to run into the open. These woods hid them. But they wouldn't run voluntarily along side the road. That was stupid.

The class passed in what felt like a minute as I was drowned in my thoughts. History was much the same, passing in no time flat before the school day came to a close.

I walked out to my car and was about to get in when someone called my name. I turned around to see Bella

"Lex," she said

"Yeah?" I asked, a little surprised

"Are you going to Jake's?" she wondered

"Yeah?" I repeated "Why?"

"I have something I need to do, so I'll be a little longer."

"Alright, want me to tell Jake?"

"Please?" she half begged

"Sure," I nodded with a smile. She smiled at me before moving on to her car. I got in mine and drove to LaPush.

"Hey," Jacob smiled and gave me a hug when I arrived.

"Hey," I smiled back "Uh, Bella said she had to do something real quickly so she'll be a few minutes late but she's still coming."

"What was it?" Jacob wondered

"I don't know," I shrugged

"Fair enough." he smirked. We hadn't been sitting for more then five minutes before Bella's truck rocked up.

"Hey, Bella," Jacob called.

"Hey, Jacob," she said back before waving at Billy, who was looking out the window.

"Let's get to work," Jacob said in a low but eager voice. Bella laughed

"You seriously aren't sick of me yet?" she wondered. I looked at her surprised

"What? Of you?" I asked smirking. "No. I for one don't spend enough time with you." I joked. She rolled her eyes as Jacob led the way around the house to his garage.

"Nope. Not yet." he answered

"Please let me know when I start getting on your nerves. I don't want to be a pain."

"Okay." He laughed, a throaty sound. "I wouldn't hold your breath for that, though."

When we walked into the garage, even I was shocked to see the red bike standing up, looking like a motorcycle rather than a pile of jagged metal.

"Dude, did you sleep at all?" I questioned. Jacob just laughed at me.

"Course I did,"

"I don't believe you," I retaliated immediately. But he just smirked.

"Jake, you're amazing," Bella breathed. He laughed again.

"I get obsessive when I have a project." He shrugged. "If I had any brains I'd drag it out a little bit." I smirked when I realised what he meant.

"Why?" Bella asked not getting it. He looked down, pausing for so long that I wondered if he hadn't heard her question. I went and sat next to the red bike as he thought. Finally, he spoke,

"Bella, if I told you that I couldn't fix these bikes, what would you say?" She didn't answer right away, either.

"I would say… that's too bad, but I'll bet we could figure out something else to do. If we got

really desperate, we could even do homework." Jacob smiled, and his shoulders relaxed. He sat down next to the bike opposite me and I winked at him. Jacob smiled and picked up a wrench. "So you think you'll still come over when I'm done, then?"

"Is that what you meant?" Bella shook her head. "I guess I am taking advantage of your very underpriced mechanical skills. But as long as you let me come over, I'll be here."

"Hoping to see Quil again?" he teased.

"You caught me." He chuckled.

"You really like spending time with me?" he asked, marvelling.

"Very, very much. And I'll prove it. I have to work tomorrow, but Wednesday we'll do

something non-mechanical." Bella promised

"Like what?" Jacob wondered

"I have no idea. We can go to my place so you won't be tempted to be obsessive. You could bring your schoolwork — you have to be getting behind, because I know I am."

"Homework might be a good idea." He made a face "Lex?" he asked me. I looked up and looked between them both. I thought

"Narr, that's alright," I declined. I wasn't going to spoil all of their alone time.

"Why not?"

"Homework with you two? Doesn't sound like much actual homework will get done." I smirked. As Bella was sitting behind me I turned to Jacob and sent him a wink. I saw him blush under his russet skin but he smiled at me.

"We're not that bad," Bella disagreed. I turned to look at her and raised an eyebrow. She rolled her eyes

"I guess we will have to start being responsible occasionally, or Billy and Charlie aren't

going to be so easygoing about this." Bella made a gesture indicating the three of us as a single

"Homework once a week?" he proposed.

"Maybe we'd better go with twice," Bella suggested. This was good, I wasn't going to join in on their homework dates. Plus, I still had other priorities, like work and friends and gymnastics, even though I didn't do it competitively anymore. Jacob sighed a heavy sigh. Then he reached over his toolbox to a paper grocery sack. He pulled out three cans of soda, cracking one open and handing it to Bella and handing me another. He opened the third, and held it up ceremoniously.

"Here's to responsibility," he toasted. "Twice a week."

"And recklessness every day in between," Bella emphasised. He grinned and touched his can to Bella's. I didn't toast and they both looked at me.

"What? I'm not doing homework." I admitted, causing them both to laugh.

* * *

Tuesday was boring and I caught up on my homework, surprisingly getting it all done, Wednesday I worked and Friday I worked, but Thursday was free. I didn't go to Jakes and help him build some more while Bells wasn't there. I needed a breather, an afternoon without grease on my hands.

I was actually really glad Bella was out of her 'zombie' mode and that Jacob seemed happier then ever. Two birds with one stone. Who knew they'd be such a match for one another. Who knew Edward leaving would be a good thing. Especially after I had such a bad feeling from it.

I spent the afternoon in the gym before driving home. I spent about two minutes there before I decided to walk down to First beach. It was peaceful today, the weather wasn't too bad so that was a little surprising. There were clouds hanging above across the sky but no rain as of yet.

The waves were calm as the wind blew the black waters towards the beach. I'd never seen a nice blue ocean, with coral and fish, I'd never gone to the right place for that, but still, I loved the ocean here in LaPush. As I walked on the sand I couldn't help but show off a little, even though know one was watching. I did a one-handed cartwheel, slowly. Then a one-handed hand-stand and began to count how long I could stray up straight for. Normal people would get dizzy after a while from all the blood that rushed to their face, I'd gotten used to it and could hold on longer then most others. I'd only gotten to a minute and a half before I heard someone whistle. I turned to see Embry standing there. I smirked and lowered my legs back to the ground, slowly standing up straight.

"Oh, don't stop on my account." Embry allowed, I chuckled

"No that's alright,"

"How do you do that?" Embry questioned

"Upper body strength, knowing your centre of gravity." I shrugged. I'd worked on my upper body strength a lot lately. "It's not that different from walking if you do it right." I confessed

"You make it look easy,," Embry admitted

"Took me a while to learn it though."

"Isn't that always the way."

"So what are you doing?" I wondered. Embry shrugged

"Everyone's busy, thought I'd go for a walk." he said looking out to the waters "You?" he wondered

"Needed a break from greasy hands," I said holding mine up.

"How's it going?" he smiled, interested

"Not bad," I smirked "Almost done."

"What's happening afterwards?"

"Jake's giving Bella lessons and in exchange Jake gets to keep the harley." I answered

"Awesome," Embry smirked

"You'll reck it." I warned, knowing he was planning on having a go

"I have my own remember,"

"Even better you don't need to ride his." I grinned. He scowled at me before we began to walk up the beach together "So where's Quil?" I wondered

"Homework." Embry smirked

"And you're not doing the same because…?" I wondered. Embry just shrugged

"Needed some fresh air," I looked at him, he had a concerned look on his face. I jumped in front of him and put my hand to his chest, making him stop walking

"What's wrong?" I questioned. He shook his head and tried to step around me but I just stepped back in his way again. He looked down on me, seeing my concerned look and knowing I wasn't going to let this go.

"I haven't been feeling all to great lately, that's all." he said, but the way he said it made it sound serious. I reached up, causing him to grin as I could only just reach his forehead

"You do feel a bit warm," I confessed. He shrugged "I'm surprised your mother isn't making you stay home."

"She doesn't know," Embry admitted. I looked at him surprised

"Why haven't you said, if you're not feeling well then…"

"It's a little different to that," he interrupted me

"How?" I asked confused. He looked at me and I could see his thoughts whirling around in his head as he thought about how to explain it.

"I don't know." he eventually spoke "It's difficult to explain." I sighed and looked at him a little longer before taking a step backwards and turning around to keep walking.

"That's weird," I confessed

"Thanks," he said sarcastically. I grinned at him, at least he wasn't acting any different, still, I watched him for a little while, he didn't have his usual happy look on his face.

"Are you sure you're alright?" I asked after a while of silence.

"Will you just drop it?" Embry spat. I stopped walking. Did he just snap at me? Over something so small and stupid? I watch him, his face wasn't annoyed, it actually looked angry. As I looked at his eyes, something inside me stirred and I felt a bit weird, but I ignored it and watch Embry for a second.

"Em?" I muttered. He seemed to snap out of what every it was and looked at me with sorry filled eyes.

"Oh Lex, I'm sorry," he said sincerely. I watched him for a second before walking towards him.

"It's alright, but…" I put my hand on his arm comfortingly before speaking again, only my words disappeared when I felt his skin. I put both hands on his arm "Dude, you're like, burning up!" he was so hot! And not in that way but as in temperature wise! He wasn't like this two seconds ago. I felt his forehead again.

"Dude, you have a fever…?" I realised. Embry took a deep breath and shut his eyes. He suddenly staggered a little and I grabbed him to steady him. "Embry?" I said worried, I swear his temperature was still rising. "I think you need to go home!" I decided immediately. Embry nodded and I helped him walk down the beach. We came to a path in the trees that cut through to the main bulk of the houses in LaPush, Jacob, mine, Leah and Embry's houses being a few. We walked through, Embry staggering and breathing deeply. I was beginning to worry, if he became really weak then there was no way I'd be able to carry him, and his house was the furthest to get too.

I couldn't put me finger on it, not two minutes ago he'd been absolutely fine, sure he was a little warmer then normal but he hadn't been this warm. And then he suddenly snapped and was way above the usual fever standard. How can you gain a fever like this in less then a few seconds? It took us no more then three minutes to break through the trees

"You alright Em?" I wondered, I had my arms wrapped around his waist and he was leaning on my shoulders. He nodded "Yeah right," I muttered, but he was still walking so that's alright.

My house came into sight and I noticed no one was home as the only car there was my own. I pulled out my keys as we walked towards the house and Embry sat down on the porch steps while I fumbled to open the door. I got him through the house and to the lounge room where I put him on the couch. He was a little to big for it but it was better then having him standing. I rushed to the kitchen and filled a bowl of water before adding ice to it. I grabbed a cloth and carried it carefully back over to Embry. I covered the cloth in water before putting it on Embry's forehead. I swear his fever was only getting worse. I didn't know what to do, do I call his Mother? Or a doctor first? I watched Embry for a second before I went to collect the phone. I dialled the Black's number.

"Hello?" Billy picked up

"Hi Billy, it's Alexis." I said

"Lexi, hang on I'll go and collect Jake for you." he said. I wasn't sure why I called Billy, but it seemed like the right thing to do, like a subconscious thought telling me to proceed. Maybe it was because he was a tribe leader, but I could have called my dad for that.

"Actually, I called you," I confessed

"Oh," he said "Well what can I help you with?" he wondered

"Well, I was at the beach when I bumped into Embry. We talked for a while before suddenly snapped at me." I began

"Snapped at you?" Billy sounded concerned

"Yeah, like a sudden burst of anger," I nodded to myself

"Where is he now?" Billy asked seriously

"On my couch, not two minutes after that he suddenly came down with a fever and I brought him back here." I explained

"Alright, Alexis, call you father and inform him." Billy ordered. I felt my eyebrows push together in confusion

"My father? What about Mrs Call?" I wondered

"We'll get to that," he promised

"Oh… alright," I muttered slowly

"I'm going to have Harry drive me up to your place. Make sure Embry doesn't move." Billy said. I was so confused, why was this suddenly so important? Why were we telling everyone except someone who could help? "Alexis, do you understand?" Billy questioned. I sighed down the phone, there had to be a reason for this, so I nodded

"Yes, I do," I promised

"I'll be there shortly." and Billy hung up. I stared at the phone confused. Before I called my dad I walked back over to Embry and rewet the cloth.

"Thanks," he muttered

"No problem, someone has to nurse you back to health." I smirked "Plus you did the same for me, remember," Embry smiled at me weakly before I began to dial my dad's number. I held a finger up to Embry and he nodded before I walked away again, not far so that I could keep an eye on him.

"Hello, Andrew Westlake here?" my dad answered

"Hey dad, it's me," I said

"Alexis, what's up honey?" he wondered. I sighed

"I called Billy and told him and he told me to tell you," I began

"Tell me what?" my dad's voice sounded as serious as Billy's had.

"Embry's lying on our couch in our living room with a terrible fever," I explained, there was silence for a minute.

"How's his temper?" he wondered, I realised this is what had set Billy off before

"He snapped at me just before the fever came on," I said truthfully.

"Alright, I'm on my way there, did Billy say anything?" dad wondered

"He's getting Harry to drive him and they're both coming here."

"Okay, be careful Alexis." my dad said before he too suddenly hung up. I stared at the phone. What was going on? What was so important that the tribe leaders were gathering? It was just a fever… right? I put the phone down and remembered that Embry needed me more then my thoughts did, he was more important. So I grabbed a glass of water and walked back to Embry, handing him the glass. The glass steamed up when he touched it and he had enough strength to sit up and wolf it down while I rewet the cloth again.

"What's going on?" Embry wondered

"My dad, Billy and Harry are coming." I said as he lied back down

"Why?" he asked confused

"I don't know," I shook my head with a sigh "Both my dad and Billy hung up before I had the chance to ask."

"Are you alright?" Embry wondered. I smirked

"Sure, I'm not the one lying on my couch with an awful fever," Embry rolled his eyes before his face scrunched up and he let out a groan. "Hey," I said surprised, was he in pain now?

"Em?"

"I'm alright," he muttered

"Yeah right." I disagreed.

"I feel like my whole body's aching," Embry muttered as he realised a breath and he started breathing hard again. I bit my lip worried before the door bell rang. I was reluctant to leave Embry but I did so anyway and got the door. Harry was there with Billy.

"Is he still here?" Harry asked, I nodded and he wheeled Billy past him.

"Alexis could you make us some coffee please?" Billy said. It wasn't a request, but a demand. It wasn't difficult to realise that they didn't want me near Embry. I nodded, I wasn't going to start yelling or screaming or demanding answers, not yet anyway. If they could help Embry then for now that's all that mattered. Answers could come later.

I walked into the kitchen and began to boil the water, I could just hear the hushed whispers from the other room, but the kettle made it impossible to pick out any actual words.

The door burst open again and this time my father walked in. The first thing he did was walk up to me.

"Are you alright?" he asked worried, looking me over. I looked at him confused

"Of, course," I answered "Why wouldn't I be?" dad looked me over again before accepting I said the truth and walking into the living room to Billy and Harry, completely ignoring my question.

The kettle popped and I could hear now as I made three cups of coffee.

"How did he get it?" my dad muttered

"I don't know, but this means he must have the gene," Harry hushed

"Then his father was from around here." my dad realised "Have you informed Sam?" dad asked

"Yes, he was busy but I managed to contact Emily. He's on his way." Billy answered

"What about Alexis?" Harry said, a little quieter as I stirred the hot liquid. I heard a sigh.

"We need to move Embry," my dad said

"What if we can't?" Harry asked

"The boys can." Billy assured him

"Until then?" my dad reminded them

"Is there a way to get her out of the house?" Billy wondered

"You could just ask." I muttered as I walked into the room and gave them all a mug each. They looked at me, I couldn't tell if they were surprised I was listening, surprised they got caught or worried about what I heard. I could tell I wasn't meant to be listening, but it's only so easy to ignore whispers. I rolled my eyes

"How's he doing?" I wondered

"He's just got a fever, a few growing pains," my dad answered, almost immediately. I sighed, his answer was way to well rehearsed. There was silence again and the three leaders just kept sharing glances.

"Jeez!" I threw my hands up "Fine! If it's so important that you can't tell me what's really going on then I'll leave." I said frustrated "I'm not going to stay if everyone around me's just going to lie anyway!" I walked towards the back door. I hadn't gotten around to taking my shoes off so I didn't need to worry about that. "Make sure you watch him!" I ordered

"Where are you going?" my dad asked

"For a walk." I said seriously before opening the door and leaving. I really didn't want to leave Embry, but they obviously couldn't help him if I was there.

I stormed off through the trees and it wasn't till I'd been walking for about twenty minutes that I slowed down. Eventually I came to a stop and huffed

"This probably wasn't smart." I muttered looking around "I'm probably lost." I confessed. I sat down at the foot of a tree and pulled my phone out. "At least it's not dead," I sighed. I'd only just realised how many people around me, have been lying to me. My father is obviously in on something which involves lying, Bella lies to us constantly, apparently Billy and Harry do too. I wonder if my mother was in on what ever it was also… I sighed and shut my eyes. I really needed a break from all of this. The only people I knew who positively didn't lie to me, was Jake, Embry and Quil. James too, but he lied to me about little things that apparently weren't important.

I leaned my head back on the tree and closed my eyes.

"Why do we lie?" I wondered, "Is it to protect those we care about, or ourselves?" it was an excellent question. When someone lies it usually turns around to hurt them for doing so. The other, who discovered the lie, usually misunderstands the reason behind it. I wonder why that is…

"Well, well, well, what have we here?" my eyes shot open and I froze. A shiver ran up my spin from the sound of that sickly sweet voice. Though in a way, it was similar. Perfect. Like chime bells. The feeling I'd felt when looking at Embry's fierce eyes returned and I felt worried, but for some reason, not scared.

I turned my head to look at where the voice had come from. It was hard to miss her, she stood out in this green forest like a white spot on black paper. She was absolutely gorgeous though. Beautiful. Though, oddly, her beauty was familiar. Her skin was so pale, like freshly fallen snow. Her hair red like fire. Her physic perfect. I then realised why she looked familiar. She reminded me of the Cullens. Her perfectness and the sound of her voice. They were similar. Except that this women gave me the chills, made the hair on the back of my neck stand up.

At first I was cautious, worried, but when I saw her eyes it was another emotion that filled me. Her eyes were red, as red as blood, darker then crimson. They stood out like her firey red hair. The look of her made me feel sort of defensive. I knew I was in trouble, but I couldn't find it in me to scream, or worry, or freak out, or even try to run.

I stood up, running my finger tips against the bark behind me as I did so, not taking my eyes off of her. Something in me wanted to turn and run, but there was something else, something that told me running was both cowardly and futile. This was the stronger side.

"Now what could you be doing all the way out here?" she wondered, her voice was the kind you used when you talked to a little kid. The smile that spread over her lips to reveal her perfect white teeth made me want to punch her. There was just something about her that I didn't like, that made me wary.

"I could ask you the same thing," I admitted. I was surprised that my voice wasn't shaking. I'd expected it to be. She looked at me surprised

"Well, aren't we have a brave one." she said. She looked me up and down, almost as if she was considering something. "What's your name?" she wondered

"Why should I tell you?" I questioned, a fierce look on my face. She grinned at me before suddenly, she was standing in front of me. She put her hand on my throat and smashed me against the tree behind me. She didn't squeeze, her hand was on my throat as a warning. I didn't even notice the throbbing that had begun in my head or the pain in my right shoulder from being smashed against the tree, what I noticed the most was how cold she was. Her fingers were like icicles. Hard, white, cold icicles. She had no warmth, almost like she was dead. The strength she used to lift me up was surprising too. She held me off of the ground but she wasn't struggling to do so.

"Didn't your mother ever tell you not to argue?" she questioned

"Yes. But she also told me not to talk to strangers." I replied. She smiled again but I could see the frustration in her eyes.

"Why do you smell like that?" she questioned, suddenly changing the topic. My eyebrows pushed together in confusion

"What?" I questioned

"Your scent… it's different," she muttered

"I have no idea what you're going on about." I confessed. Scent? Isn't that meant to be something animals smell? How the hell can she smell it?

"Why aren't you scared?" she asked, curiosity written all over her face

"Of what? You?" I asked in return

"Most people are terrified by now," she admitted

"You're obviously not a nice person then. You now it's not nice to frighten people." I said. She smiled again, but this time, there was something in her eyes, as though she'd thought of a good idea. This smile wasn't a nice smile, neither were the others but this one, this one made me feel sick.

"You know what… I like you," she decided. I looked at her confused.

"Then why are you threatening to strangle me?" I questioned

"Leverage sweetie," she cooed in her sickly sweet voice

"Leverage for what?" I asked. She smiled wider

"You'll see."

"I want to know, not see," I admitted, she laughed

"Oh you are a fighter."

"I don't fight," I confessed. I wanted to hit her hand away, I wanted to make her let go. The cold from her hand was making my fingers around her wrist freeze and I felt like my neck was being frozen solid. But for some reason I knew it was futile. Maybe it was the strength she was exhibiting, or the speed that she moved. I didn't understand; how can you move like that? How can you be alive and yet so cold? How was it possible?

She was still smiling at me and opened her mouth to speak, but something distracted her as her head snapped to the side, looking into the trees. I didn't follow her gaze I just looked at her, she was so perfect, to perfect, but at the same time, she was so… not.

Something brought me out of my thoughts. It sounded like a growl, something made by a wolf, or a dog. I turned my head the most I could to look at where the growl came from. The pale girl was looking at it too, she hadn't removed her hand but the expression on her face was annoyed. There was a slight show of frustration in her emotions.

We both watched as the growling got closer. My eyes widened as a huge black wolf stepped out from behind the trees. There were two behind it, a silver grey one and a medium brown. They were all huge, much taller then a normal wolf, even taller then a human. The black one in the front was the tallest out of all three. It's lips pulled back over it's canine teeth as it snarled.

The girl's hand tightened around my throat as she snarled at them. I gasped and closed one of my eyes, holding onto her wrist with both hands instead of just one. The black wolves ears laid back on his head and he growled at her. The silver one did the same while the medium one did some sort of bark. The girl snarled at them before suddenly her hand was gone from my throat and my feet hit the ground. I crouched down and took a deep breath before looking at her as she ran away. She was gone before I could even blink.

Two of the wolves were straight after her, whizzing past me so fast I only saw a blur of silver and brown. The black one looked at me for a minute. I swear there was something about it, something that looked… different to a normal wolf, other then it's size.

Just like I wasn't scared of the girl I wasn't scared of this wolf either, despite it's huge size. But I slowly stood up with caution, not taking my eyes off of it. It looked at me for a second longer, let out a small warning like growl before it took off after the girl and the other two wolves.

I stood there completely confused before I heard a howl. I took a deep breath.

"What the bloody hell…" I muttered to myself. What is wrong with the world?!

I started walking, walking in the direction the wolves had come from, I wasn't sure if I was going the right way but I just kept walking. It seemed the smartest thing was to just go in the opposite direction to that which the wolves and that girl had headed.

I didn't get it! I didn't understand! At the same time I wasn't sure whether I wanted to understand.

Somehow I managed to make it out of the trees and to somewhere familiar; First beach. The sun had begun to set and could only just be seen over the ocean. I walked over to a piece of drift wood before sitting down on it. I put my head in my hands.

"What is wrong with me?" I muttered. Why wasn't I scared of her? Or those huge wolves? It seemed to me that that girl had the power to kill me, something about her said she'd do it too. And yet, I didn't worry about it once until just now.

Why were those wolves chasing her anyway? And how the hell did they all run so bloody fast?

How? That seemed to be the question of the day. And boy was it annoying the crap out of me. It was like an itch that I couldn't scratch. The answer… why do I feel like I know it? And why did I react the way I did? Like I wasn't scared? Why wasn't I scared?

I suddenly remembered that I'd walked off into the forest on my father and the sun was going down. We didn't need another Bella incident. I sighed and slapped my cheeks, if I went home looking like I felt then everyone would start shitting their pants worrying about me. I didn't need to tell anyone about what just happened, not yet anyway. Not only that but I still had to work out what happened.

I started walking back to my house, taking deep breaths and trying to compose myself, to lock all the questions away in a box somewhere to be reopened later. It was then that I remembered Embry. I ran back to my house, it only taking me a minute before I walked quickly in through my front door, seeing my mothers car as I did.

"Mum! Dad!" I called, my mother came around the corner from her study

"You're home," she smiled, but the smile was fake, it didn't reach her eyes and all I could see was worry.

"It's alright, I'm fine mum." I assured her as she gave me a hug. It only just occurred to me that I was pretty good at looking through people's masks, the masks they wore to cover their true emotions. I guess after Bella's lied for the past year you couldn't really blame me.

"Alexis?" my father called. He saw me and I saw the anxiousness that covered his face, the worry and panic that disappeared the second his eyes found me. At first I thought it was about Embry but then he walked towards me and pulled me into a hug.

I was surprised. His hug was so… relieving, but not for me, for him, like he knew I was in trouble. I looked at him when he pulled away

"What's wrong?" I wondered. He looked at me for a second before shaking his head. He placed his hand on my cheek

"I was just worried," he said, I rolled my eyes

"I know how to take care of myself dad." I assured him

"I know," he smiled and gave me another hug "I know." he said again.

"How's Embry?" I asked. He pulled away

"We called his mother and she's taken him home to be looked after." he said. I was a little confused, he was lying to me, but at the same time he was telling the truth. I couldn't tell which part of his sentence was the truthful one.

"That's good," I sighed "I hope he gets better." My dad nodded

"How about dinner?" my mum proposed

"Yes please." James called from the top of the stairs. We all laughed at him as he came down.

"Have a nice walk sis?" he wondered

"Peachy." I rolled my eyes before winking at him, trying to conceal that I'd used the word 'peachy' again.


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 6: 

It was now Saturday a week after, and I hadn't heard from Embry since. What was even worse is that no one would let me see him, he was never home when I went to his house either. But his mother had told me he was all better now. I didn't understand. He was alright, but seemed to be avoiding me. Jacob hadn't helped in telling me how he was, he'd been busy with Bella that I didn't want to ruin their fun and interrupt with something that sounded bad. I didn't want to ask if Embry was avoiding Jake like he was me. I didn't understand. But I guess there was a lot of that going on now.

I still hadn't figured out what was going on with that girl or those wolves. Ever since, I hadn't been very good at staying out of the forest, I kept going in instead. Most people would never enter it again, they'd stay away, but my curiosity was getting the best of me. Guess it just added to my growing weirdness. I wasn't brave but it turned out I wasn't a coward either. It wasn't like I had experience in this so it confused me. Again, nothing new there.

I was sitting in the living room after work just staring at the wall while I was thinking about all this. I'd been very good the last few days, I only started thinking about it and dazing when no one else was around, that way no one could question me on it. I wasn't ready to tell anyone just yet, I needed answers first.

I was distracted from my thoughts by the phone going off. I sighed and got up to answer it.

"Hello?" I asked

"Lexi, good," Jacob said

"Did you know that a simple 'hey' is a nice way to greet someone?" I said, he chuckled on the other end

"Hey," he said, I looked at the clock

"What's up? Aren't you and Bella meant to be studying?" I questioned

"We're done."

"Huh. How's that going by the way?" I wondered. There was silence for a while and I could basically picture him blushing

"Good," he said casually

"That's boring." I confessed "So what's up?" I asked before he could argue.

"I need your help," he said, getting straight to the point

"With what?" I wondered confused

"The bikes." he said softly

"Why?"

"They're almost done."

"So?"

"So I want to get them finished by tomorrow, but I want it to be a surprise for Bella." he explained

"Oh… wow, they're almost done? Already? That was fast." I confessed. I didn't know you could pull apart and rebuild two motorcycles in a week. Then again Jake liked the challenge, spent every second on it and had both Bella and I there to help.

"Yeah, pretty cool huh," Jacob said "So will you come and help?"

"Sure, I'll be there in a tick." I promised

"Awesome." he said before I hung up the phone and headed towards the door, grabbing my car keys as I went. I locked the front door as no one else was home and jumped into the car.

I parked it outside Jake's house and walked around the house, not even bothering to see if anyone was home, I was positive that Jake was around the back.

I jumped into the garage to see I was right. He was working hard away on the red bike.

"You know, you can spend time on you're own too." I said, he looked up and grinned at me "I mean, if you don't finish them both then you can't ride with her." I smirked

"Shut up and give me a hand would you." he ordered. I shrugged and pulled my hood off before doing so. We worked into the night before I forced Jacob out of the garage and into his house.

"If you want to ride on them you need to have a goods night sleep, or I'm not letting you on either of those bikes." I hissed at him in front of the door

"But…" he began

"I'll be back first thing in the morning, they should be done before 10, now calm down and go to sleep!" I ordered. He sighed, knowing he couldn't win an argument against me.

"Fine." he agreed before walking into the house. I walked back to my car and drove home.

"Alexis, you're back," my dad said when I walked inside

"Like every afternoon," I said, "Well, almost every afternoon." it was weird, ever since my forest walk dad had been saying that every time I came home, like he expected that one day I wont or something.

We ate dinner before I walked upstairs and completed some homework, seeing as tomorrow was going to be a day full of motorcycle riding.

I was awake at about six in the morning, I knew Jake would be out there first thing, which was probably like an hour ago, so I got ready and had left the house by six-thirty, writing a note to my parents telling them where I'd be today, well, I told them I was with Jake and Bella, but not where we were.

When I reached Jacob's house I was right about him already being at work

"You're here early," he noticed

"Promised I would be." I shrugged

"Can you hand me that gear?" He asked. I did so.

"So, you got any teaching methods?" I wondered

"Motorbikes aren't hard." he shrugged

"For you, you're teaching someone who's never been up to one close until now," I reminded him, he sighed

"It shouldn't be difficult."

"I agree, but you should still think about what you're going to do if it is."

"I thought hands on learning would be best," Jacob admitted

"As long as it doesn't get her killed,"

"Don't worry, we're not going on any busy roads." he assured me

"Where are we going?" I wondered, he smirked at me but didn't answer. I rolled my eyes at him.

It wasn't long before we finished the bikes, checking over them three times just to make sure everything was there and looking over the entire garage to make sure we didn't miss any pieces. When we were satisfied we shared a high five.

"Nice job." I complimented

"Thanks," Jake smiled "You didn't do to bad yourself." he admitted, putting an arm over my shoulders.

"Well, it wouldn't be done without me," I said before grinning. He rolled his eyes "Better let Bella know now." I reminded him

"Oh!" he remembered and was suddenly gone from the garage. I rolled me eyes and polished up the bikes before wheeling them, one after the other, towards the shrubbery and trees were they were concealed from the house, getting them ready to be loaded onto Bella's truck when she got here. Jacob came out with some ribbons as I we standing them up.

"You know, I could have done that." he said when he saw them clean and that I'd moved them.

"But you were busy," I shrugged. He smirked and tied a blue ribbon around each of the handle bars. We then went inside to collect a few things, Bella turned up at this point. We saw her pull the truck right near were the bikes were. Jacob headed out first before I followed

"Let's get this party started then shall we." I grinned. Bella nodded to me and Jacob loaded the bikes into the bed of the truck with ease, laying them carefully on their sides so they didn't show.

"Let's go," he said, his voice higher than usual with excitement. "I know the perfect spot — no one will catch us there."

We drove south out of town. The dirt road wove in and out of the forest — sometimes there was nothing but trees, and then there would suddenly be a breathtaking glimpse of the Pacific Ocean, reaching to the horizon, dark grey under the clouds. We were above the shore, on top of the cliffs that bordered the beach here and the view seemed to stretch on forever.

I wasn't the only one that was curious as to where we were headed, Bella was looking around too, she was driving slowly, so that she could safely stare out across the ocean now and then, as the road wound closer to the sea cliffs. It was a beautiful view and I couldn't help but smile when I saw it. Jacob was talking about finishing the bikes, but his descriptions were getting technical.

As I stared out across the view, I noticed four figures standing on a rocky ledge, much too close to the precipice. I knew immediately who three of them were, that wasn't difficult, it was the same three as always, but the fourth was a mystery to me. Despite the chill in the air today, they seemed to be wearing only shorts.

As I watched, the tallest person stepped closer to the brink. And then he threw himself off the edge.

"No!" Bella shouted, stomping down on the brake. I thrusted forwards in my seat at the sudden stop before looking at Bella surprised.

"What's wrong?" Jacob shouted back, alarmed.

"That guy — he just jumped off the cliff! Why didn't they stop him? We've got to call an

ambulance!" Bella threw open her door and started to get out, which made no sense at all. The fastest way to a phone was to drive back to Billy's.

I sat back realising she'd seen the guy jump too. Jacob started laughing. Bella spun to stare at him wildly.

"They're just cliff diving, Bella. Recreation. La Push doesn't have a mall, you know." He was teasing, but there was a strange note of irritation in his voice.

"Cliff diving?" Bella repeated, dazed. She stared in disbelief as a second figure stepped to the edge, paused, and then very gracefully leaped into space. He fell for what seemed like an eternity before finally cutting smoothly into the dark grey waves below.

"Yeah, it's something LaPush kids do for fun," I explained as I looked from the cliff to her, leaning forwards to look at her around Jacob.

"Wow. It's so high." Bella slid back into her seat, still staring wide-eyed at the two remaining divers. "It must be a hundred feet."

"Well, yeah, most of us jump from lower down, that rock that juts out from the cliff about

halfway." He pointed out the window. "Those guys are insane. Probably showing off how tough they are. I mean, really, it's freezing today. That water can't feel good." He made a disgruntled face, as if the stunt personally offended him. It was strange seeing him upset, it didn't happen often.

"You jump off the cliff?" Bella asked surprised, noticing Jacob's choice of words, Jacob and I both nodded. We'd done it before. Not for a while though.

"Sure, sure." He shrugged and grinned. "It's fun. A little scary, kind of a rush."

"We've gotta entertain ourselves somehow," I admitted looking back out the window at the cliffs, where the third figure was pacing the edge.

"Jake, you have to take me cliff diving." Bella suddenly decided. I groaned at her, what with her recklessness lately? Jacob frowned back at her, his face disapproving.

"Bella, you just wanted to call an ambulance for Sam," he reminded her.

"I want to try." she insisted as she was starting to get out of the car again. Jacob grabbed her wrist.

"Not today, all right? Can we at least wait for a warmer day?" Bella looked back at the cliff before sighing.

"Okay, fine," she agreed. "But I want to go soon."

"Soon." Jake rolled his eyes. "Sometimes you're a little strange, Bella. Do you know that?"

"A little?" I smirked. She sighed.

"Yes."

"And we're not jumping off the top." Jacob said sternly. I turned and watched as the third boy made a running start and flung himself farther into the empty air than the other two. He twisted and cartwheeled through space as he fell, like he was skydiving. He looked absolutely free — unthinking and utterly irresponsible. I sighed and looked away.

"Fine," Bella agreed. "Not the first time, anyway." Now Jacob sighed.

"Are we going to try out the bikes or not?" he demanded.

"Okay, okay," Bella said, tearing her eyes away from the last person waiting on the cliff. Bella put her seat belt back on and closed the door. The engine was still running, roaring as it idled. We started down the road again.

"So who were those guys — the crazy ones?" Bella wondered after a few minutes. Jacob made a disgusted sound in the back of his throat.

"The La Push gang."

"You have a gang?" Bella asked. She sounded impressed. Jacob laughed once at her reaction.

"Not like that. I swear, they're like hall monitors gone bad. They don't start fights, they keep the peace." He snorted. "There was this guy from up somewhere by the Makah rez, big guy too, scary-looking. Well, word got around that he was selling meth to kids, and Sam Uley and his disciples ran him off our land. They're all about our land, and tribe pride… It's getting ridiculous. The worst part is that the council takes them seriously. Embry said that the council actually meets with Sam." He shook his head, face full of resentment before he looked at me. I shrugged

"If they do they don't do it at my house." I confessed "Leah Clearwater said that they call themselves 'protectors' or something though." I remembered her telling me, I noticed Jacob's hands then, they were clenched into fists, as if he'd like to hit something. I looked at him concerned

"You don't like them very much." Bella noticed

"Does it show?" he asked sarcastically.

"Well… it doesn't sound like they're doing anything bad." she tried to soothe him, to make him cheerful again. "Just sort of annoyingly goody-two-shoes for a gang."

"Yeah. Annoying is a good word. They're always showing off — like the cliff thing. They act like… like, I don't know. Like tough guys. I was hanging out at the store with Embry and

Quil once, last semester, and Sam came by with his followers, Jared and Paul. Quil said something, you know how he's got a big mouth, and it pissed Paul off. His eyes got all dark, and he sort of smiled — no, he showed his teeth but he didn't smile — and it was like he was so mad he was shaking or something. But Sam put his hand against Paul's chest and shook his head. Paul looked at him for a minute and calmed down. Honestly, it was like Sam was holding him back — like Paul was going to tear us up if Sam didn't stop him." He groaned. "Like a bad western. You know, Sam's a pretty big guy, he's twenty. But Paul's just sixteen, too, shorter than me and not as beefy as Quil. I think any one of us could take him."

"Tough guys," Bella agreed. "Isn't Sam a little too old for this kind of thing?"

"Yeah. He was supposed to go to college, but he stayed. And no one gave him any crap

about it, either. The whole council pitched a fit when my sister turned down a partial scholarship and got married. But, oh no, Sam Uley can do no wrong." His face was set in unfamiliar lines of outrage. I remembered that, my dad wasn't impressed, he as one of the only ones of his generation to go to college, so the council was trying to encourage it now.

"It all sounds really annoying and… strange. But I don't get why you're taking it so personally." I was with Bella, I knew Sam was giving Jake looks but I didn't see where all this anger came from. He was suddenly calm, staring out the side window past me.

"You just missed the turn," he said in an even voice. Bella executed a very wide U-turn, nearly hitting a tree as her circle ran the truck halfway off the road.

"Thanks for the heads-up," she muttered as she started up the side road. "Sorry, I wasn't paying attention." It was quiet for a brief minute.

"You can stop anywhere along here," Jake said softly. Bella pulled over and cut the engine. We all got out, the silence still dawning, and Jacob headed around to the back to get the bikes. I walked around and stood next to him, reading his expression. Something more was bothering him. Before I couldn't get an idea on what it was, he smiled halfheartedly as he pushed the red bike to Bella's side.

"Happy late birthday. Are you ready for this?" he wondered

"I think so." Bella muttered

"We'll take it slow," he promised. Bella gingerly leaned the motorcycle against the truck's fender while Jake went to get his. I wasn't riding any of them, I wasn't going to be reckless like Bella seemed to be doing. It was a good thing because my mind was somewhere else anyway.

"Jake…" Bella said, snapping me out of my thoughts. She hesitated as he came back around the truck.

"Yeah?"

"What's really bothering you? About the Sam thing, I mean? Is there something else?" Bella watched his face. He grimaced, but he didn't seem angry. He looked at the dirt and kicked his shoe against the front tire of his bike again and again, like he was keeping time. He sighed.

"It's just… the way they treat me. It creeps me out." The words started to rush out now. "You know, the council is supposed to be made up of equals, but if there was a leader, it would be my dad. I've never been able to figure out why people treat him the way they do. Why his opinion counts the most. It's got something to do with his father and his father's father. My great-grandpa, Ephraim Black, was sort of the last chief we had, and they still listen to Billy, maybe because of that." he paused for a second "But I'm just like everyone else. Nobody treats me special… until now."

"Sam treats you special?" Bella asked surprised

"Yeah," he agreed, looking up at her with troubled eyes. "He looks at me like he's waiting for something… like I'm going to join his stupid gang someday. He pays more attention to me than any of the other guys. I hate it. And why me? Why doesn't he look at Lex like that, or James? Their dad's on the council too," Bella looked at me and I nodded, it was true, but I think Sam hardly even knows I exist.

I was a little surprised, I knew Sam had been giving Jacob weird looks, but seeing as I didn't go to school with him I didn't know they were treating him differently.

"You don't have to join anything." Bella's voice was angry.

"Yeah." His foot kept up its rhythm against the tire.

"What?" Bella and I chorused, we both shared a look, knowing there was more. He frowned, his eyebrows pulling up in a way that looked sad and worried rather than angry.

"It's Embry. He's been avoiding me lately." now I frowned and looked away, they both noticed

"You too?" Jacob asked, I nodded

"Just over a week ago I saw him on the beach, but since then, he's been avoiding me too," I confessed. "I was going to ask you about it, but you were busy."

"You've both been hanging out with me a lot," Bella reminded us

"No, that's not it. It's not just us — it's Quil, too, and everyone. Embry missed a few days of school, but he was never home when we tried to see him. And when he came back, he looked… he looked freaked out. Terrified. Quil and I both tried to get him to tell us what

was wrong, but he wouldn't talk to either one of us." he turned to me and I shook my head

"He hasn't spoken to me." I assured him, Jake sighed and continued

"Then this week, out of nowhere, Embry's hanging out with Sam and the rest of them. He was out on the cliffs today." His voice was low and tense. My eyes widened

"That was Embry!" I couldn't help but say. He nodded to me before looking at Bella

"Bella, they bugged him even more than they bother me." I remembered how Embry had looked the last time I'd seen him, freaked. This must have been why "He didn't want anything to do with them. And now Embry's following Sam around like he's joined a cult. And that's the way it was with Paul. Just exactly the same. He wasn't friends with Sam at

all. Then he stopped coming to school for a few weeks, and, when he came back, suddenly Sam owned him. I don't know what it means. I can't figure it out, and I feel like I have to, because Embry's my friend and… Sam's looking at me funny… and…" He trailed off.

"Have you talked to Billy about this?" Bella asked. Jacob looked angry now

"Yes," he snorted. "That was helpful."

"What did he say?" Bella demanded Jacob's expression was sarcastic, and when he spoke, his voice mocked the deep tones of his father's voice.

"It's nothing you need to worry about now, Jacob. In a few years, if you don't… well, I'll explain later." And then his voice was his own. "What am I supposed to get from that? Is he trying to say it's some stupid puberty, coming-of-age thing? This is something else. Something wrong."

"It didn't help when the council members were at my house either," I spoke, they looked at me. I sighed "When I last saw Embry, he was sick." I confessed "I don't know why, but for some reason I called Billy, and he told me to call my dad and that he and Harry were coming up. All of them were at my house within fifteen minutes. Then they asked me to do something, but I could still hear them whispering. They were talking about…" I thought, closing my eyes, trying to remember without including the wolf thing "They said something about a gene, and that his dad must have been Quileute, then something about telling Sam. Then they said they needed to get me out of the house, like Embry was dangerous or something." I explained

"What then?" Jacob wondered, listening intently. I shook my head

"I interrupted them, they told me he was just having growing pains or something." I shrugged "But Jake, you know me, and you know that I know when I'm being lied to, no matter who it is," I saw Bella's face grow worried from the corner of my eye "Jake, they were lying to me." I admitted

"What did you say?" Bella wondered

"I confronted them about it, we argued and then I left the house. By the time I got back my dad said Embry's mother had gotten him and that he was being cared for. But the same thing happened to me, he was never home when I went to visit though his mother told me he was all better." I took a deep breath "At first I didn't mind Sam, well until Jake told me he was giving him weird looks, but then, I don't know…" I muttered "There's something about them that puts me off." I confessed

"Like what?" Bella asked, I shrugged. Before sighing

"All I know is that Sam's the reason Embry's not talking to me. Us." I looked at Jacob, he was biting his lower lip and clenching his hands. He looked like he was about to cry.

Bella suddenly threw her arms around him, wrapping them around his waist and pressing her face against his chest.

"Oh, Jake, it'll be okay!" she promised. "If it gets worse you can come live with me and Charlie. Don't be scared, we'll think of something!" He was frozen for a second, and then his long arms wrapped hesitantly around Bella. I tried to hide my snickering

"Thanks, Bella." His voice was huskier than usual. I smirked

"That's a great idea, you can even move to school with us!" I laughed. Jacob smiled at me and I slowly took a few steps backwards before climbing up to sit on Bella's bonnet while they stayed in each others arms.

Thinking about what Jacob had said, I began to worry, Embry gave in and he wasn't exactly weak. Not only that but the Embry I knew, wasn't the one I saw on the cliff. His hair was all cut off, his muscles were bigger and he was walking around half naked. That wasn't the Embry I knew. I looked up when I heard Jacob's laughter. I smiled at him and he smiled back, but didn't move from Bella's embrace. I guess now I felt like a third wheel but I wasn't gonna stop it. They were good for one another after all. Bella pulled away then, laughing with him,

"It's hard to believe I'm two years older than you," she said, emphasising the word older. "You make me feel like a dwarf." Standing that close to him, she really had to crane her neck to see his face.

"You're forgetting I'm in my forties, of course." Jacob smirked

"Oh, that's right." Bella smiled.

"Damn it, I was the oldest," I whined, earning a smile from them both. Jacob patted Bella's head. "You're like a little doll," he teased her. "A porcelain doll." Bella rolled her eyes, taking another step away.

"Let's not start with the albino cracks."

"Seriously, Bella, are you sure you're not?" He stretched his russet arm out next to Bella'. The difference wasn't flattering. "I've never seen anyone paler than you... well, except for —" I immediately held up my arms in the sign of an X and shook my head at him. He saw me and broke off his sentence, but Bella still looked away, trying to not understand what he had been about to say.

"So are we going to ride or what?" he asked distracting her.

"Let's do it," she agreed, more enthusiastic than she seemed to have been half a minute ago. They pushed the bikes away from the truck while I sat on the roof for a good view and Bella sat in the seat of her bike. Jacob started pointing out parts of the bike and telling her the important stuff. Every time he started getting a bit to technical I'd call his name and he'd apologise before returning to helping her.

It took Bella about ten minutes to memorise where they were before Jacob went over it again, this time asking her, not telling her.

"Okay, where's your clutch?" Jacob asked. Bella pointed to the lever on her left handlebar. Letting go of the grip was a mistake. The heavy bike wobbled underneath her, threatening to knock her sidewise. I clenched my teeth while watching as Bella grabbed the handle again, trying to hold it straight.

"Jacob, it won't stay up" she complained.

"It will when you're moving," he promised. "Now where's your brake?"

"Behind my right foot."

"Wrong." Jacob grabbed her right hand and curled her fingers around the lever over the throttle.

"But you said —" Bella began

"This is the brake you want. Don't use the back brake now, that's for later, when you know

what you're doing." Jacob interrupted her

"That doesn't sound right," Bella said suspiciously. "Aren't both brakes kind of important?"

"Forget the back brake, okay? Here —" Jacob wrapped his hand around Bella's and made her squeeze the lever down. "That is how you brake. Don't forget." He squeezed her hand

another time.

"Fine," she agreed.

"Throttle?" she twisted the right grip.

"Gearshift?" she nudged it with her left calf.

"Very good. I think you've got all the parts down. Now you just have to get it moving." Jacob grinned

"Uh-huh," Bella muttered, she sounded like she was afraid to say more. She stared down the long stretch of dirt road, bordered by thick misty green on every side. The road was sandy and damp. Better than mud.

"I want you to hold down the clutch," Jacob instructed. I got up from my seat and crouched down on the bonnet of the truck. She wrapped her fingers around the clutch.

"Now this is crucial, Bella," Jacob stressed. "Don't let go of that, okay? I want you to pretend that I've handed you a live grenade. The pin is out and you are holding down the spoon." I saw Bella's knuckles turn white as she squeezed tighter.

"Good. Do you think you can kick-start it?"

"If I move my foot, I will fall over," Bella told him through gritted teeth, her fingers tight around her live grenade.

"Okay, I'll do it. Don't let go of the clutch." He took a step back, and then suddenly slammed his foot down on the pedal. There was a short ripping noise, and the force of his thrust rocked the bike. Bella started to fall sideways, but Jake caught the bike before it knocked her to the ground. I could feel myself worrying for her

"Steady there," he encouraged. "Do you still have the clutch?"

"Yes," she gasped.

"Plant your feet — I'm going to try again." But he put his hand on the back of the seat, too, just to be safe. It took four more kicks before the ignition caught. Bella gripped the clutch as the bike rumbling beneath her like an angry animal.

"Try out the throttle," he suggested. "Very lightly. And don't let go of the clutch." Hesitantly, Bella twisted the right handle. Though the movement was tiny, the bike snarled beneath her. It sounded angry and hungry now. Jacob smiled in deep satisfaction.

"Do you remember how to put it into first gear?" he asked.

"Yes."

"Well, go ahead and do it."

"Okay." He waited for a few seconds, but she didn't move. "Left foot," he prompted.

"I know," she said, taking a deep breath.

"Are you sure you want to do this?" Jacob asked. "You look scared."

"I'm fine," Bella snapped. She kicked the gearshift down one notch.

"Very good," he praised her. "Now, very gently, ease up on the clutch." He took a step away from the bike.

"You want me to let go of the grenade?" Bella asked in disbelief. No wonder he was moving back.

"That's how you move, Bella. Just do it little by little." I couldn't stand to be so far back so I jumped off of the truck, my gymnast skills allowing me to land easily, before walking up to Jake, watching Bella. Bella began to release the clutch before she suddenly gasped.

"Oh!" and her hand fell off the bike bucked under her, yanking her forward and then collapsing to the ground half on top of Bella. The growling engine choked to a stop.

"Bella?" Jacob jerked the heavy bike off her with ease. I took the handle bars from him and held it up straight "Are you hurt?" Jacob asked, but she didn't seem to be listening.

"I'm fine," she mumbled after a few second, dazed. Jacob was pulling Bella to her feet and I examined her, she did look fine.

"Did you hit your head?" Jacob asked, looking at me for a quick second.

"I don't think so." Bella shook it back and forth, checking. "I didn't hurt the bike, did I?" This

thought seemed to seriously worry her. I noticed in her expression that she was anxious to try again, right away.

"No. You just stalled the engine," Jacob said "You let go of the clutch too fast." Bella nodded.

"Let's try again."

"Are you sure?" Jacob asked he looked at me but I hardly noticed, I was watching Bella, something was off.

"Positive." This time Bella tried to get the kick-start herself and every time she did that, the bike tried to knock her over. Jacob's hand hovered over the handlebars, ready to catch her if she needed him.

It took several good tries, and even more poor tries, before the engine caught and roared to life under her. Remembering to hold on to the grenade, Bella revved the throttle experimentally. It snarled at the slightest touch. Bella's smile mirrored Jacob's now. I wasn't as excited, I had a feeling I hadn't felt in a while, the worried feeling I got when Edward was about to leave, though this time it wasn't as big, just a little feeling, but it bothered me.

"Easy on the clutch," Jacob reminded Bella. Bella smiled tightly "Ease off slowly," Jacob encouraged her.

"I will," she said, but there was something about her response…

Bella focused this time and relaxed her hand by tiny degrees. Suddenly, the gear caught and wrenched her forward. The bike zoomed off and Jake and I watched her, Jacob was smiling happily, I wasn't feeling what he was. We watched as she twisted for more gas.

"Jake, I don't like this," I said

"What?" he asked

"Get your bike," I muttered as I watched Bella approach the corner. I saw Jacob look at me strangely from the corner as Bella suddenly slammed down with her right foot, hitting the wrong brake.

"Jacob!" I ordered turning to him, he saw the seriousness in my face and did as I ordered. I turned back to Bella in time to see the bike shivering first to one side and then the other with Bella on top. It was dragging her toward the trees on the side of the road, and she was going too fast. The bike suddenly pushed towards the ground, still spinning towards the trees as Bella tried to turn. I could only just hear Jacob's muttering as he got his own bike going.

The motorcycle landed on top of Bella, pulling her across the wet sand until it hit a small boulder.

"Bella!" Jacob yelled. I jumped on Jake's bike behind him and he raced off after Bells. I jumped off before he'd fully stopped and ran to her. Jacob pulled the bike off of her and turned it off before pushed it away while I rolled Bella over onto her back. Jacob was by my side again in an instant.

"Wow," she murmured.

"Bella!" Jacob was crouching over her anxiously. "Bella, are you alive?"

"She's breathing Jake, calm down." I assured him "Shit," I muttered, noticing her head was bleeding.

"I'm great!" she enthused. She flexed her arms and legs as if testing. Everything seemed to be working correctly. "Let's do it again."

"Are you insane?" I accused her harshly

"I don't think so." Jacob said worried, agreeing with me. "I think I'd better drive you to the hospital first."

"I'm fine." Bella thought

"Um, Bella? You've got a huge cut on your forehead, and it's gushing blood," he informed

her.

"Trust you not to notice," I sighed, she seemed like herself and other then the cut, seemed fine. Bella clapped her hand over her head, feeling the wet, sticky, blood.

"Oh, I'm so sorry, Jacob." Bella pushed hard against the gash.

"Why are you apologising for bleeding?" he wondered as he wrapped a long arm around her waist and pulled Bella to her feet.

"It's not like it was your fault," I assured her

"Let's go. I'll drive." Jacob decided as he held out his hand for the keys.

"What about the bikes?" Bella asked, handing them over. Jacob thought for a second.

"Wait here. And take this." He ordered as he pulled off his T-shirt, already spotted with blood, and threw it to Bella. It was hard not to notice all his muscles then, I caught myself staring after a second before I turned my head back to Bella. She wadded the shirt up and held it tightly to her forehead.

"You sure you're alright?" I asked, Bella nodded "You hit the wrong brake." I informed her, she looked at me "You were meant to use the hand brake." I smiled. She sighed

"Sorry,"

"It was your first time," I reminded her. Jacob jumped on the black motorcycle, kicked it to a start in one try, and raced back down the road, spraying sand and pebbles behind him. He looked athletic and professional as he leaned over the handlebars, head low, face forward, his shiny hair whipping against the russet skin of his back. Bella's eyes narrowed enviously.

"I didn't look like that, did I?" she wondered

"Well considering you wouldn't ride around without a shirt on…" I began, she nudged me and I chuckled "No, unfortunately you didn't, but remember Jake's had lots of practice"

"Have you ever ridden one?" Bella asked me

"Yeah, a few times, but not in a while." I confessed, not all the happy about it. She sighed. I looked back after Jacob, Bella had gone so far that you could hardly see Jake as he reached the car and threw the motorcycle into the back before he sprinted to the driver's side. He coaxed Bella's truck to a deafening roar in his hurry to get back to us. Jacob left the truck running as he raced back to Bella's side, wrapping his arm around her waist again.

"Okay, let's get you in the truck." he ordered

"I'm honestly fine," Bella assured him as he helped her in. Bella sat on the side against the window while I sat in the middle. "Don't get worked up. It's just a little blood."

"Just a lot of blood," he muttered in disagreement as he went back for Bella's bike.

"Don't blame him too much for worrying, motorcycle accidents aren't exactly harmless," I reminded her

"You're not freaking out." Bella noticed

"I'm keeping it inside, I'm worried there's a lot of blood but I also know how stubborn you are, plus worrying wont get us anywhere." I explained as Jacob got back into the car.

"I'm taking you to the hospital," he decided

"Now, let's think about this for a second," Bella began "If you take me to the ER like this, Charlie is sure to hear about it." she glanced down at the sand and dirt caked into her jeans.

"Bella, I think you need stitches. I'm not going to let you bleed to death." Jacob said worried

"I won't," Bella promised. "Let's just take the bikes back first, and then we'll make a stop at my house so I can dispose of the evidence before we go to the hospital."

"What about Charlie?"

"He said he had to work today."

"Are you really sure?"

"Trust me. I'm an easy bleeder. It's not nearly as dire as it looks."

"Deep breath Jake, we don't need something happening to you too," I said to him "There's no way I'd be able to lift you." I smirked. He seemed to take a deep breath as I instructed but he kept glancing at Bella. He wasn't happy — his full mouth turned down in an uncharacteristic frown — but he didn't want to get Bella in trouble.

We sat in silence as he drove, Bella was staring out the window, holding Jake's shirt to her head. I was trying to put my finger on something, Bella was fine, until she suddenly got distracted, she seemed to eager, eager for danger, for stupidity. I sighed an shook my head.

"You still okay?" Jacob checked not to long later

"Yeah." Bella didn't sound that convincing

"By the way," he added. "I'm going to disconnect your foot brake tonight." I smirked

"Maybe you should have done that before she got on," I suggested. We dropped the bikes off first, quickly getting them into Jacob's garage while we made Bella wait in the car before driving to her house. I helped her get the mud and dirt out of her hair before leaving her be to get changed.

"How does she look?" Jacob asked worried

"Calm down, she's fine." I assured him

"But…"

"Jake," I said "You're worrying her by freaking out so much, this is Bella, it's not the first time she's cut herself you know."

"We need to get her stitched up though," he reminded me

"And we will," I nodded. Unfortunately Jacob's impatience was thin enough

"Hurry up," he called. I shook my head.

"Okay, okay," Bella shouted back. Before she came down the stairs.

"How do I look?" she asked us.

"Better," Jacob admitted.

"But do I look like I tripped in your garage and hit my head on a hammer?" she asked, I smirked

"Sure, I guess so." Jacob muttered

"Let's go then." Bella decided

"That's a good one," I complimented her

"I've had a lot of practice." she admitted, I rolled my eyes at her. Jacob hurried Bella and me out the door, and insisted on driving again. We were halfway to the hospital before Bella spoke. She frowned guiltily.

"We should have grabbed you a jacket." I looked at Jake and realised what she meant, he was still shirtless.

"That would have given us away," he teased. "Besides, it's not cold."

"Are you kidding?" Bella shivered and reached out to turn the heat on. I looked at her a little confused, I didn't feel cold either.

"What?" Jacob suddenly asked. I looked at him to see he looked self-conscious. It didn't take me more then two seconds to realise why, Bella was idolising him, looking at his muscles.

"Nothing. I just hadn't realised before. Did you know, you're sort of beautiful?" Bella complimented. I smirked and looked at Jake to expect him to be blushing, but he didn't, he just rolled his eyes.

"You hit your head pretty hard, didn't you?"

"I'm serious." Bella said

"Well, then, thanks. Sort of." Jacob said awkwardly. Bella grinned.

"You're sort of welcome." I looked at Jake over Bella's head, he glanced at me and blushed when he saw my smile.

Bella had to have seven stitches to close the cut on her forehead. Jacob held her hand while Dr. Snow was sewing, I couldn't help but notice how ironic that was.

We were at the hospital forever. By the time Bella was done, she had to drop Jacob and I off at his home. She tried to drive me too but I had to remind her that my car was at Jake's. We waved goodbye until the truck was out of sight.

"Jeez," Jacob let out a sigh

"You know I swear you were much more worried then she was." I confessed

"I don't understand how she was so calm," Jacob muttered

"She's had worse injuries remember." I said, he sighed

"I know,"

"Other then that today wasn't half bad," I confessed "Did you have fun?" I teased, he rolled just eyes

"You're just as bad as Quil and Embry."

"Well, I better be, we did grow up together remember." I smirked. He frowned

"Do you know what's going on?" he asked

"I wish," I muttered. And that ended that conversation.


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 7: 

"Hey Lexi!" I looked up

"Hey Bells," I smiled

"I need you," she said, I raised an eyebrow

"For what?" I narrowed my eyes, she rolled her eyes

"I've invited Jacob hiking, there was this place I found once, will you come with us?" she rushed, I looked surprised

"Um… sure?" I said "Why?"

"Well, I don't know how good Jake is with this sort of stuff, but I know you're good at it from when you were a kid…"

"You do remember that Jake came with me then?" I reminded her, she looked embarrassed

"Well two heads are better then one," she decided with a shrug

"Hiking, while there's a huge bear," I said, though I didn't believe that anymore. It wasn't bears I'd seen in the woods that day. I saw Bella frown. "I'm definitely in," I smiled, she looked surprised

"Really?" she asked

"Bella, this is me, of course I'm coming, plus you invited me, and you seem very excited." I admitted, she smiled and shrugged

"Thanks,"

"When are we going?"

"Saturday." she answered, I thought

"After your shift?" I wondered, she nodded "Awesome, I'll meet you…"

"At Jake's." Bella said

"Alright." I nodded

"Thanks Lex," she smiled

"No problem." I was surprised how excited she was for this.

So come Saturday afternoon I turned up at Jake's, he was already for the hike. He looked at me surprised when I turned up at his door.

"Lexi," he said. I knew there and then that Bella had forgot to tell him I was coming.

"Hey,"

"Look, I'm really sorry but…" he began

"You're going hiking," I smirked, walking past him.

"Y-Yeah" he said confused.

"I go to school with Bella remember."

"I know…"

"Well, much to my surprise, she invited me to come hiking with the two of you, but I came here a little earlier to first ask you if that was alright with you," I explained

"She invited you?"

"Yeah… it was weird," I muttered "She was awfully excited." Jacob suddenly gave me a hug and spun me around. I had to duck as my head almost hit the celling.

"Are you kidding, if you're there then this day just get better!" he said putting me down

"How?" I questioned

"Don't you remember our hikes together?" he asked, I smirked

"Of course I do,"

"Then there's you answer." he smiled. I rolled my eyes

"Well then, it's good I still dressed for the occasion." I was wearing jeans, like always, with my hiking boots, jacket and three quarter top.

"I hope Bella got the right stuff," Jacob muttered

"Hey, she said she'd done it before." I shrugged. He nodded.

Bella turned up not long later, wearing almost the same as me but with more layers.

We didn't get started immediately; first, Jacob and I sprawled across the living room floor — taking up the whole room — and, for a full twenty minutes, we drew a complicated web across the key section of the map while Bella perched on a kitchen chair and talked to Billy. Billy didn't seem at all concerned about our proposed hiking trip. For some reason the only people who wanted us out of the woods were the Forks people. The council members weren't at all concerned about the 'bear' anymore. Bella was surprised that Jacob had told him where we were going, given this reason.

"Maybe we'll see the super bear," Jacob joked, eyes on his design. Billy just laughed at his son.

"Maybe you should take a jar of honey, just in case." Jake chuckled.

"Hope your new boots are fast, Bella. One little jar isn't going to keep a hungry bear occupied for long."

"I only have to be faster than you." Bella thought

"Good luck with that!" Jacob said,

"It's not that hard, I'm faster then you," I reminded him. He rolled his eyes as he refolded the map. "Besides, the jar of honey wouldn't last, Jake would eat it before we began the walk." I joked,

"You're more likely to have eaten it with that sweet tooth of yours." he said back, I smirked and didn't deny it. We stood up

"Let's go." Jake told Bella.

"Have fun," Billy rumbled, wheeling himself toward the refrigerator.

"We will." I smiled. Bella drove to the very end of a dirt road, stopping near the sign that marked the beginning of the trailhead. We got out and Bella looked at the dense wall of green.

"I went this way," she murmured, pointing straight ahead.

"Hmm," Jake muttered.

"What?" He looked at the direction she'd pointed, then at the clearly marked trail, and back.

"I would have figured you for a trail kind of girl."

"Not me." she smiled bleakly. "I'm a rebel." Jake wasn't the only one who laughed

"What? The straight 'A' student?" I wondered, Bella smiled at me before Jacob pulled out our map.

"Give me a second." He held the compass in a skilled way, twisting the map around till it

angled the way he wanted.

"Okay, first line on the grid. Let's do it." he decided and we started doing just that.

Bella wasn't as fast as Jacob and I was, I'd had years of experience in both keeping up with Jake and tracking through the woods so I wasn't having as hard of a time keeping up with his long legs as Bella was. We didn't complain though, it wasn't that bad.

Jacob was awfully cheerful as we walked, he whistled cheerfully, a familiar tune, swinging his arms and moving easily through the rough undergrowth. The tune was something I'd heard before but I couldn't remember exactly were.

"Have you ever tried doing gymnastics here?" Jacob asked me at one point. I thought

"I think so, but I'm not very good at avoiding everything." I admitted.

"Can you show me?" Bella asked, I looked at her a little surprised. I shrugged and looked around before I walked forwards. I took a breath before I did cartwheels, summersaults and other flips until I was about ten metres away.

"Wow," Bella said.

"That was good," Jacob said as they walked towards me "Almost like you did do it all the time."

"You were so graceful." Bella smiled

"Practice," I sighed with a shrug.

Jacob checked the compass every few minutes, keeping us in a straight line with one of the radiating spokes of his grid. Every now and then he'd ask me on my opinion or for my help just to be sure but he really didn't need it. He was doing fine without my help.

"Hey... Jake?" Bella asked hesitantly after a while of silence

"Yeah?"

"How are things... with Embry? Is he back to normal yet?" silence dawned for a minute as we continued to move forward. Jacob was about two yards ahead of me and ten ahead of Bella. He stopped to wait for us both.

"No. He's not back to normal," Jacob said when Bella reached us, his mouth pulling down at the corners. He didn't start walking again.

"You?" he asked me.

"Nope," I sighed. "I'll let you know the second he talks to me though." I promised.

"Still with Sam." Bella asked

"Yup." He put an arm around both our shoulders.

"Are they still looking at you funny?" Bella half-whispered. Jacob stared through the trees.

"Sometimes."

"And Billy?"

"As helpful as ever," he said in a sour, angry voice.

"Lex?" Bella asked

"I don't even bother." I said not looking at her.

"Our couch is always open," Bella offered. He laughed, breaking out of the unnatural gloom.

"But think of the position that would put Charlie in – when Billy calls the police to report my kidnapping." Bells and I laughed too

"That would be a funny conversation to listen too," I confessed thinking about it.

We stopped when Jacob said we'd gone six miles, cut west for a short time, and headed back along another line of his grid. Bella admitted that her silly quest was pretty much doomed. She believed it more as it got darker, the sunless day fading toward a starless night, but Jacob was more confident then she was.

"As long as you're sure we're starting from the right place..." He glanced down at her.

"Yes, I'm sure."

"Then we'll find it," he promised,

"We're not gonna find it in the dark," I confessed with a grin

"How about we pick it up later?" Jacob suggested, Bella looked up at the ever growing dark sky and nodded. Jacob and I began to track back towards Bella's car, but Bella was useless in the dark, so Jacob grabbed her hand and pulled her through a mass of ferns. On the other side was the truck. He gestured toward it proudly.

"Trust me."

"You're good," Bella admitted. "Next time we bring flashlights, though."

"We'll save hiking for Sundays from now on. I didn't know you were that slow." Jacob chuckled as Bella yanked her hand back and stomped around to the driver's side while Jacob and I chuckled at her reaction.

"So you up for another try tomorrow.'" Jacob asked, sliding into the passenger seat of the car after me.

"Sure. Unless you want to go without me so I don't tie you down to my gimpy pace."

"You're not that bad Bells, remember Jacob's just a freak with long legs," I smirked. Jacob hit my arm

"Ow," I complained, but it didn't hurt that much and he rolled his eyes at me before turning back to Bella.

"I'll survive," he assured her. "If we're hiking again, though, you might want to pick up some

moleskin. I bet you can feel those new boots right now."

"A little," Bella confessed.

"I hope we see the bear tomorrow. I'm sort of disappointed about that." I shut my trap, I wasn't sure how to explain that giant wolves had saved me from a sort of dead girl.

"Yes, me, too," Bella agreed sarcastically. "Maybe we'll get lucky tomorrow and something will eat us!"

"Bears don't want to eat people. We don't taste that good." He grinned at Bella in the dark cab.

"Unless their hungry enough," I shrugged.

"Of course, you might be an exception. I bet you'd taste good." Jacob joked

"Thanks so much," Bella said, looking away.

* * *

Time passed and Jacob, Bella and I began to switch through tasks, between the hiking every Sunday, Bella getting better with her bike, which meant fewer bandages to worry Charlie. And the homework groups that they'd insisted that I joined in, I only joined in on one though.

Today was one of those days and Jacob and I were sitting on his porch while waiting for Bella to turn up.

"What did you get her?" I asked

"Chocolates," he said obviously

"What type?" I said more specifically. He shrugged

"You're useless," I sighed but smiled at him "It's a good thing it's the thought that counts."

"Did you give chocolates to anyone"

"Not someone I love/like…" I said in a weird way

"What do you mean?" he wondered

"I give chocolates to all my friends," I shrugged

"Where's mine?" Jacob wondered, I placed on in his hand

"There," I pointed"

"Thanks," he smirked, I shrugged

"No problem." I shrugged. If you asked me valentines day was just a day were more people confessed who they liked then other days. A day when you find out who's liked the most in school or the least, especially seeing as chocolates are given out either the Friday before or the Monday after when it's on a weekend like this year.

It didn't take long for Bella to rock up and Jacob walked up to her happily.

"Happy Valentine's Day," Jacob said, smiling, but ducking his head as he greeted her.

He held out a small, pink box, balancing it on his palm. Conversation hearts.

"Well, I feel like a schmuck," I heard Bella mumbled. "Is today Valentine's Day?" Jacob shook his head with mock sadness.

"You can be so out of it sometimes. Yes, it is the fourteenth day of February. So are you going to be my Valentine? Since you didn't get me a fifty-cent box of candy, it's the least you can do." I gapped

"Fifty-cents?!" I asked ashamed "I spent more then that," I muttered, Jacob turned and smirked at me.

"What exactly does that entail?" Bella hedged.

"The usual – slave for life, that kind of thing." Jacob shrugged

"Oh, well, if that's all..." Bella took the candy.

"So, what are we doing tomorrow? Hiking, or the ER?" Jacob wondered as I approached the two.

"Hiking," Bella decided. "You're not the only one who can be obsessive. I'm starting to think I imagined that place..." she frowned into space.

"We'll find it," he assured her.

"You know we could just use the internet to find it, they have maps on there now," I smirked

"Where's the fun in that?" Jacob asked

"Well considering you have to memorise were it is and then put in on the hard copy of the map in your hand, then you need to…" he cut me off

"I get it," he sighed. I grinned at him. "So, bikes Friday?" he offered us. I looked Bella, she was the one learning not me.

"I'm going to a movie Friday. I've been promising my cafeteria crowd that I would go out

forever." Bella said

"Really?" I asked, Bella nodded "Where's my invite?" I muttered

"Weren't you invited?" Bella asked

"I don't think so…" I thought, she smirked

"Well you're included in the group, you should come," she offered

"I don't know, I do spend enough time with you as it is…" I began, she rolled her eyes and I grinned

"I'd love to," I smiled. Jacob wasn't as pleased by the arrangement as his face fell. Bella seemed to catch the expression in his dark eyes before he dropped them to look at the ground.

"You'll come too, right?" she added quickly. "Or will it be too much of a drag with a bunch of boring seniors?" I raised an eyebrow at her, Mike wouldn't like that. She saw my look and shrugged

"You'd like me to come, with your friends there?" Jacob asked surprised, he looked at me and I nodded before he turned to Bella again

"Yes," she admitted honestly. "I'll have a lot more fun if you're there. Bring Quil, and we'll make it a party." Quil and senior girls…

"Quil's gonna freak. Senior girls." He chortled and rolled his eyes. I laughed

"I was just thinking that!" I smirked

"I'll try to get him a good selection." Bella promised.

Bella got right on to making plans, inviting everyone. We'd planned to take both my car and Mike's Suburban but it turned out it wasn't necessary, Jessica and Lauren claimed to be busy as soon as Mike let it slip that Bella was involved in the planning. Eric and Katie already had plans — it was their three - week anniversary or something.

Lauren got to Tyler and Conner before Mike could, so those two were also busy. Even Quil

was out — grounded for fighting at school. In the end, only Angela and Ben, and, of course

Jacob, were able to go. The diminished numbers didn't dampen Mike's anticipation, though. It was all he could talk about Friday. I guessed seeing as I was coming too it made even numbers and he'd jumped to conclusions, getting his hopes up, again.

"Are you sure you don't want to see Tomorrow and Forever instead?" he asked at lunch,

naming the current romantic comedy that was ruling the box office. "Rotten Tomatoes gave it a better review."

"I want to see Crosshairs" Bella insisted. "I'm in the mood for action. Bring on the blood and guts!" I sighed, so she couldn't see romance yet.

"Okay." Mike turned away. As school ended I got a message from Jake, reading it I immediately turned to find Bella

"Bells," I called, she turned to me and I gave her the phone

"Surprise?" she asked, I shrugged and she read again

"He's at my house?"

"Come on, let's go!" I ushered before getting into my car. Being fast then hers I got to her house just a minute before her. Jake was there and he was leaning against a very familiar car was parked in front of her house.

"No way!" Bella shouted as she jumped out of the truck. "You're done! I can't believe it! You finished the Rabbit!"

"I can't believe you finished it without me!" I said as I opened the door and stood up to look over it before jumping out and walking towards them both

"Sorry Lex," I frowned and gave him a puppy dog look. He smiled at me though.

"When'd you finish it?" I demanded to know. He beamed.

"Just last night. This is the maiden voyage."

"Incredible." Bella held her hand up for a high five. He smacked his hand against her's, but left it there, twisting his fingers through her's.

"So do I get to drive tonight?"

"Definitely," Bella said,

"You better," I ordered. The mood was ruined when Bella sighed.

"What's wrong?"

"I'm giving up — I can't top this one. So you win. You're oldest." He shrugged, unsurprised by Bella's capitulation.

"Of course I am."

"Excuse me!" I said

"Sorry Lex, but I'm better," he shrugged

"Ha," I said not giving up. Mike's Suburban chugged around the corner. Bella pulled her hand out of Jacob's, and he made a face that she wasn't meant to see.

"I remember this guy," he said in a low voice as Mike parked across the street. "The one who thought you were his girlfriend. Is he still confused?" Bella raised one eyebrow.

"Some people are hard to discourage."

"Then again," Jacob said thoughtfully, "sometimes persistence pays off."

"Yeah, but sometimes persistence can annoy others too," I muttered annoyed. Jacob grinned at me.

"Come on…" he began, Bella cut him off

"Most of the time it's annoying." she agreed with me. I gave Jake a look and he rolled his eyes at me. Mike got out of his car and crossed the road.

"Hey, Bella," he greeted her, and then his eyes turned wary as he looked up at Jacob. I

glanced briefly at Jacob, too, trying to be objective. He really didn't look like a sophomore at all. He was just so big — Mike's head barely cleared Jacob's shoulder.

"Hey, Mike! Do you remember Jacob Black?"

"Not really." Mike held out his hand.

"Old family friend," Jacob introduced himself, shaking hands. "Known Alexis since we were toddlers," he nodded. They locked hands with more force than necessary. When their grip broke, Mike flexed his fingers. We heard the phone ringing from the kitchen.

"I'd better get that — it might be Charlie," Bella told us before she dashed inside. There was silence between the three of us and I could feel the tension building between the two boys, even as no words were said.

"Ang is sick," Bella told us glumly. "She and Ben aren't coming."

"I guess the flu is making another round. Austin and Conner were out today, too. Maybe we should do this another time," Mike suggested. I could see Bella was about to agree before Jacob spoke.

"I'm still up for it. But if you'd rather to stay behind, Mike —"

"No, I'm coming," Mike interrupted. "I was just thinking of Angela and Ben. Let's go." He started toward his Suburban.

"I'm not getting in that thing," I said immediately to Bella and Jacob "Especially when the rabbit's an option."

"Hey, do you mind if Jacob drives?" Bella asked. "I told him he could — he just finished his car. He built it from scratch, all by himself," Bella bragged, proud as a PTA mom with a student on the principal's list.

"Fine," Mike snapped.

"All right, then," Jacob said, as if that settled everything. He seemed more comfortable than Bella and Mike. I turned around, walking next to Jacob to the Rabbit

"He doesn't like you," I muttered

"I noticed." Jacob smirked. I rolled my eyes as we all climbed into the car. Mike climbed in the backseat of the Rabbit next to me with a disgusted expression. Jacob was his normal sunny self while Mike sulked silently in the back. I was over his moping and was leaning forwards to join in with Jake's conversation.

And then Mike changed his strategy. He leaned forward next to me and rested his chin on the shoulder of Bella's seat; his cheek almost touched her's. She shifted away, turning her back toward the window.

"Doesn't the radio work in this thing?" Mike asked with a hint of petulance, interrupting

Jacob mid-sentence.

"Yes," Jacob answered. "But Bella doesn't like music." Bella looked at him surprised, so I wasn't the only one who'd noticed she didn't like listening to it.

"Bella?" Mike asked, annoyed.

"He's right," she mumbled, still looking at Jacob's serene profile.

"How can you not like music?" Mike demanded. Bella shrugged.

"I don't know. It just irritates me."

"Hmph." Mike leaned away. Jacob sent me a look and I smirked and gave him a wink, telling him nice going without using my words. He understood me.

When we got to the theatre, Jacob handed Bella a ten-dollar bill.

"What's this?" she objected.

"I'm not old enough to get into this one," he reminded her. I chuckled

"So much for relative ages. Is Billy going to kill me if I sneak you in?"

"No. I told him you were planning to corrupt my youthful innocence." Bella snickered

"What innocence?" I asked confused, Jacob smirked while Mike quickened his pace to keep up with us.

The movie was exactly what Bella described. In just the opening credits, four people got

blown up and one got beheaded. The girl in front of Bella put her hands over her eyes and

turned her face into her date's chest. He patted her shoulder, and winced occasionally, too.

Mike didn't look like he was watching. His face was stiff as he glared toward the fringe of

curtain above the screen. Jacob was fine, I was sitting on his other side while Bella was between him and Mike. It was hard to concentrate on the movie when Jacob had started

sniggering.

"What?" Bella whispered.

"Oh, c'mon!" he hissed back. "The blood squirted twenty feet out of that guy. How fake can

you get?" He chuckled again, as a flagpole speared another man into a concrete wall.

"Do you have to ruin it?" I smirked, he shrugged

"Sorry," Jacob had done this since he was maybe ten, he'd never been the type to scare at scary movies. Hey, I'd been attacked by a dead girl and saw three giant wolves chase after her faster then I could watch. And because I'd grown up with Jake, I could see the movie the way he did.

After that though, Bella stared to really watched the show, laughing with us as the mayhem got more and more ridiculous.

Bella had looked at me around Jacob not long after and I'd noticed her look. She glanced at both the hands on the armrests, occupied by the boys. Both of their hands rested lightly, palms up, in an unnatural looking position. Like steel bear traps, open and ready. I looked at them and then shrugged, I didn't know what to do. Wasn't nothing a good answer? Bella folded her arms tightly across her chest when I shrugged, I could tell she was hoping that both their hands fell asleep.

Mike gave up first. About halfway through the movie, he pulled his arm back, and leaned

forward to put his head in his hands. The movement caught my eye but I ignored it, what I didn't ignore was the moan that left his mouth.

"Mike, are you okay?" I heard Bella whisper. I leaned forwards and Jake gave me a look as I leaned semi-across him. The couple in front of us turned to look at him as he groaned again. You could see the sheen of sweat across his forehead from where I was sitting. Mike groaned again, and bolted for the door. Bella and I got up to follow him, and Jacob got up to do the same.

"No, stay," Bella whispered. "I'll make sure he's okay."

"Yeah right," I muttered pushing past her. I wasn't staying, who knows, Bella alone with Mike can't be good. Jacob came with us anyway.

"You don't have to come. Get your eight bucks worth of carnage," Bella insisted as we walked up the aisle.

"That's okay. You sure can pick them, Bella. This movie really sucks." His voice rose from a whisper to its normal pitch as we walked out of the theatre.

"It only sucks cause you ruined it," I muttered, he smirked.

There was no sign of Mike in the hallway, and Bella and I were glad then that Jacob had come with us — he ducked into the men's bathroom to check for him there.

Jacob was back in a few seconds.

"Oh, he's in there, all right," he said, rolling his eyes. "What a marshmallow. You should hold out for someone with a stronger stomach. Someone who laughs at the gore that makes weaker men vomit." I rolled my eyes before walking over to the vending machine near by.

"I'll keep my eyes open for someone like that." Bella said as I walked away. I pulled out some small change and paid for three drinks, no way was Mike going to be able to stomach one now, whether it was a solid or not. It took a while for the three drinks to come out before I carried them back to Jacob and Bella. They were sitting on a velveteen upholstered bench together. I reached them when Jacob poked Bella in the ribs. She rolled her eyes. He chuckled quietly for a minute while his pinky finger absently traced designs against the side of her hand.

"Here," I handed them, they looked at me surprised "Yeah, I'm still here." I winked, they both blushed and took a can each from me. Jacob opened his before going back to tracing patterns on Bella's hand.

"That's a funny scar you've got there," he suddenly said, twisting Bella's hand to examine it. "How did that happen?" The index finger of his free hand followed the line of the long silvery crescent that was barely visible against Bella's pale skin. I scowled.

"Do you honestly expect me to remember where all my scars come from?" I looked at it, leaning over. This scar was different. It wasn't just a scar, it looked almost like a bite.

"It's cold," Jacob murmured, pressing lightly against the scar. And then Mike stumbled out of the bathroom, his face ashen and covered in sweat. He looked horrible.

"Oh, Mike," Bella gasped.

"Do you mind leaving early?" he whispered.

"No, of course not." Bella pulled her hand free and went to help Mike walk. He looked unsteady.

"Movie too much for you?" Jacob asked heartlessly. I looked at him, surprised by the tone of his voice. Mike's glare was malevolent.

"I didn't actually see any of it," he mumbled. "I was nauseated before the lights went down."

"Why didn't you say something?" Bella scolded as we staggered toward the exit.

"I was hoping it would pass," he said.

"Just a sec," Jacob said as we reached the door. He walked quickly back to the concession stand.

"Could I have an empty popcorn bucket?" he asked the salesgirl. She looked at Mike once,

and then thrust a bucket at Jacob.

"Get him outside, please," she begged. She was obviously the one who would have to clean the floor. Bella towed Mike out into the cool, wet air. He inhaled deeply. Jacob was right behind us. He helped Bella get Mike into the back of the car, and handed him the bucket with a serious gaze.

"Please," was all Jacob said.

We rolled down the windows, letting the icy night air blow through the car, hoping it would

help Mike. I felt the worst, I was sitting next to him.

"Cold, again?" Jacob asked, I looked up to see him putting his arm around Bella, who was curled up in a ball.

"You're not?" He shook his head.

"You must have a fever or something," Bella grumbled. She touched her fingers to his forehead, and his head was hot.

"Whoa, Jake – you're burning up!"

"I feel fine." He shrugged. "Fit as a fiddle." Bella frowned and touched his head again.

"Your hands are like ice," he complained. I sat up, suddenly remembering something' when Embry had come down with his fever, before he missed school and joined Sam, he'd snapped at me. Now Jacob had made a heartless comment towards Mike and was burning up, I suddenly felt like I was having deja vu.

"Maybe it's me," Bella allowed.

Mike groaned in the backseat, and threw up in the bucket. I grimaced and jumped as far away as possible. Jacob checked anxiously over his shoulder to make sure his car wasn't defiled.

The road felt longer on the way back and Jacob was quiet, thoughtful. He left his arm around Bella.

When we got back to Bella's, Bella drove Mike home in his Suburban, while Jacob followed behind to take her home. I'd just stayed in Jake's car, jumping into the front seat, we were going back to Bella's anyway so I left mine sitting there.

Jacob was quiet all the way back to Bella's house. I was still wondering about the fever, it was scaring me, and more then my usual weird six sense that I got when bad things seemed to be about to happen.

"I would invite myself in, since we're early," he said as we pulled up next to Bella's truck. "But I think you might be right about the fever. I'm starting to feel a little… strange." I began to panic! I wasn't the only one.

"Oh no, not you, too! Do you want me to drive you home?" Bella

"No." He shook his head, his eyebrows pulling together. "I don't feel sick yet. Just… wrong.

If I have to, I'll pull over."

"Will you call me as soon as you get in?" Bella asked anxiously.

"Sure, sure." He frowned, staring ahead into the darkness and biting his lip. I watched him, not at all making a move to leave the car. Bella opened her door to get out, but Jacob grabbed her wrist lightly and held her there.

"What is it, Jake?" she asked.

"There's something I want to tell you, Bella… but I think it's going to sound kind of corny."

Bella sighed.

"Go ahead."

"It's just that, I know how you're unhappy a lot. And, maybe it doesn't help anything, but I

wanted you to know that I'm always here. I won't ever let you down — I promise that you can always count on me. Wow, that does sound corny. But you know that, right? That I would never, ever hurt you?"

"Yeah, Jake. I know that. And I already do count on you, probably more than you know."

The smile broke across his face the way the sunrise set the clouds on fire. I didn't smile at how cute that was, Bella might have stopped worrying but I hadn't. A strange look crossed his face.

"I really think I'd better go home now," he said. Bella got out quickly.

"I'm following you home," I said immediately. He was about to argue when he opened his mouth, he looked at me, I guess my worry was written all over my face because he didn't bother. I got out and ran to my car, started it up and raced after Jacob.

The reason I had a bad feeling was because after Embry's fever, he'd cut us all out. I didn't need that happening with Jacob, I wouldn't be able to take that, not with Jake.

We reached his house and he began to stagger, just like Embry. I ran to his side and helped him, well tried. I felt my eyes well up with tears, I was probably over reacting but I couldn't risk it.

"Why are you crying?" he asked me

"Jake, make me a promise too," I began. He looked at me surprised, I think he assumed the wrong thing cause his expression changed after I spoke next "Don't stop talking to me like Embry did," I felt a tear run down my cheek. He looked at me stunned

"I'd never do that," he promised

"Embry probably thought that too." I reminded him, he frowned

"I promise," he said, I didn't actually want to hear it, I was so scared he wasn't going to be able to keep it. I walked him to the front door, but before I helped him inside I gave him a huge hug. I think he realised how worried I was now

"Don't worry Lex, what would I do without you?" he asked

"Crash and burn," I shrugged, it didn't sound as funny as it should have cause my voice was shaky. But he chucked anyway.

"Billy," I called when we entered the house, he came wheeling out from down the corridor

"What's wrong?" he asked, more tears escaped

"He has a fever," Billy understood immediately, just like he had with Embry

"Take him to his room." he ordered, but I could see the pity in his face when he looked at me. I nodded and obeyed before lying him down.

"It's just a fever Lex," Jake said

"You say that now, I mean look at Embry."

"What's this got to do with any of that?" he wondered

"Embry had a really bad fever before everything happened to him too," I said "I'm not the only one who'll be crushed if the same thing happens to you." I reminded him of the promise he'd just made Bella.

"Alexis, you need to go home, I don't want you to catch it." Billy ordered

"I can't catch this!" I shot at him, but I obeyed his order anyway. I looked back at Jacob and he looked utterly concerned for me before Billy shut the door between us.

I cried the whole way home and then snuck into the house so that I didn't need to talk to anyone. I couldn't be sure this fever was the signal to the boys behaviour, but it was giving me that bad feeling and that was bad enough. I got changed and then climbed into bed, before crying myself to sleep.


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 8:

I woke up the next morning, my face dry and stiff from the tears. My eyes were dry and my nose slightly stuffed up. I wonder if I'd cried in my sleep or if it had stopped when I drifted off? I wouldn't be surprised either way.

I listened, staying silent and closing my eyes, I could hear James in his room next door, but no other noise was coming from the house. I guessed my parents were both out then. Though it was difficult to tell because I could hear a beeping noise coming from somewhere nearby.

It took me a while to realise it was my alarm. I was surprised I'd slept through it, that hadn't happened before.

I didn't reach to turn it off, I only looked up at the clock. I was supposed to be at work in ten minutes. I sighed, I wasn't in the mood for work, in fact I wasn't in the mood for anything.

It was about five minutes before I managed to move my arm to reach for my phone. I dialled my work's number and held it to my ear. My manager picked up

"Hey, it's Alexis," I said when he was finished with the introduction.

"Alexis, are you on your way? You shift starts in five." he reminded me

"I know, I'm sorry, but I can't come in today." I apologised "I've caught that stomach bug." I lied

"Oh…" he muttered "Well get better, I'll get someone to take your shift."

"Sorry," I muttered

"No worries, just get better," and he hung up. I flopped back down onto my pillows, staring out my open window. It was raining, drizzling. A miserable sight. It didn't help my mood.

Eventually I got annoyed by the beeping and I reached up to turn it off. The stiffness of my face where my tears had dried up in lines down my face began to irritate me, so I managed to get myself out of bed and to my door. When I left my room, James saw me. Guess he was awake.

"Morning Lexi," he greeted

"Morning," I mumbled, I guess I didn't sound tired enough and he heard something else because he grabbed my shoulder. I was surprised, James' hand felt like Jake's, warm. Not fever warm, but, getting there. I turned around and looked up at him. It sort of annoyed me how he was so tall, just like Jake and Embry. What was with these LaPush boys and their growth spurts? I grabbed his hand, removing it from me shoulder.

"James, why are you so warm?" I questioned. Sure I wasn't cold but I wasn't this warm. James shrugged at me, I looked at him worried "Don't you get a fever too," I said, he looked at me confused but that expression died when my eyes began to well up with tears.

"Lex, what's wrong?" he wondered, the tears spilled over my lids, and James pulled me into a hug. "Lex, what happened?" he asked again, I cried

"Jacob got the fever." I muttered, I could tell by his posture that he didn't understand

"It's just a fever Lex." he assured me

"You don't understand," I muttered "Embry got the same fever, remember?" I took a small step back to look at him. James nodded "Well afterwards, he stopped talking to all his friends, cut everyone out and started hanging out with Sam, remember." his eyebrows pushed together

"But, that's got nothing to do with a fever," he though. I frowned

"That's what I thought, but Jake did the exact same thing Embry did before the fever came on." I muttered "Literally the exact same."

"What do you mean?"

"Embry snapped at me for no reason when we were on the beach. It was like he was suddenly filled with anger and the way he looked at me…" I trailed off "Then Jacob did something similar to Mike last night, he was suddenly filled with anger, not annoyance. Anger," I clarified "Then they both got a fever," I muttered. "I have a really bad feeling." I looked up at James as he looked at me concerned.

"James, I don't know what I'm going to do if Jake cuts me out." I sobbed

"Don't let him,"

"It's not that easy, I don't see him all day, I don't go to the same school, he probably wont be home, like Embry he wont be home when I get there," I said, more tears "And what's worse is I don't know why." I cried. He hugged me again

"Jake can't cut you out, you've been best friends forever,"

"Doesn't seem to have stopped Embry." I muttered, burying my face in he shirt, soaking it.

"Why did you think I would get a fever?" James wondered after listening to my sobbing for a while.

"Cause you're the same as them," I muttered "Tall, warm, the same age, Quileute…"

"We're all Quileute. What's that got to do with it?" James asked, rubbing my back

"I don't know, but that's what I over heard Dad, Billy and Harry say when Em was here." I said. James stopped rubbing for a minute after I said that before he continued.

"The council members," he muttered

"All but Old Quil," I nodded. "They know what's going on, Billy wouldn't tell Jake though and dad's been lying to me so I haven't bothered asking."

"How do you know he's lying to you?" James wondered, I looked back up at him again

"I don't know, I just know when people are lying to me," I confessed "I thought you knew that?" James shrugged, but didn't answer. I shook my head and sighed before stepping back from him.

"Anyway, that's just me over reacting." I mumbled, I knew that's what he was thinking. "I need a shower." I said before turning away and walking into the bathroom, I shut the door and locked it before he could say anything.

I stood there for a minute before I took a deep, shaky breath and turned the shower on. While I was in it I could no longer tell what was water and what was tears as they unwillingly ran down my face.

The shower did me good and I began to calm down just a little, as though it washed some of my over reaction-ness down the drain. But it didn't stop all the worrying. Jake was still sick, and although I knew I was over reacting, that was still bad.

James was right, there was no way to know if the fever and Embry's behaviour were connected. Thinking of that reminded me of when I saw Embry on the cliff. I'd never seen Embry with short hair before, well except when he was little, but that doesn't really count, it was several years ago. In fact, Quil was the only one who had short hair, the only one who didn't grow it out, mainly cause he couldn't. Even James grew his out, but that might have something to do with my mother refusing to cut it, she only got it trimmed for him… though James didn't seem to mind.

I wonder why they did grow their hair out… why everyone in LaPush, the boys mostly, grew their hair long?

I sat on the couch by the phone, glancing at it every five minutes. I was debating on whether I should call Jake or not, see how he was, but I had a feeling that calling was futile. Billy basically kicked me out last night, would he shut down my phone calls too?

James came down the stairs and saw me sitting in silence. I didn't look up as he walked towards me until he suddenly picked up the phone.

"If you're going to worry, why not just call them?" he held the phone to me. I was scared my suspicions would be proven correct if I did. So I bit my lip and didn't move. James rolled his eyes and sighed. He looked at the phone and started dialling the number.

I just watched him as he put the phone on speaker and sat next to me.

_"Hello?" _Billy answered

"Hey Billy, it's James" James said

_"How are you James?"_ Billy asked, something was wrong, Billy didn't sound as cheerful as usual.

"Yeah, not bad. You?" James asked politely

_"Good."_ he said. He didn't sound it.

"So, I heard Jake was sick, how is he?" James wondered, getting straight to the point

_"Not good, his fever is high and he says his entire body is aching."_ Billy sighed. I looked at James surprised, Billy spoke the truth. I opened my mouth to speak but I was afraid Billy would stop talking. It was weird, he didn't seem happy to tell me anything, but he spoke truthfully to James. Why?

"Aching?" James asked

_"Yeah,"_ Billy sighed

"Do you know what's wrong?" James questioned

_"Doctors say he has mono."_ Billy said, James looked at me as my eyes narrowed. I wasn't as good at telling when someone was lying over the phone as I was when in person, but Mono was something you could only get from kissing someone… Jake hadn't kissed anyone.

James gave me a look, telling me to stop judging people. I glared at him.

"Do they have any treatment?" James wondered

_"No, but he just needs lots of rest, so no visitors." _Billy said very sternly. My mouth dropped open

"I didn't think mono was infectious?"

_"Yes well, visitors means he wont be resting,"_ Billy hurried.

"Well, call us and tell us if there's any news?" James wondered

_"Bye James, make sure your sister's alright, she was pretty upset last night."_ Billy sounded guilty as well as worried.

"I will", James said "See you." and he hung up.

"No visitors?!" I burst, James shrugged

"Sounds reasonable"

"Mononucleosis?" I said "That's a kissing disease!"

"Maybe…"

"Jake's spent the last… week with Bella and I —" he cut me off

"Are you sure he and Bella haven't —" I interrupted him

"Positive," I said "I'd know, Jake would have told me, whether it was with his words or facial expressions," I confessed "I know that boy better then he knows himself,"

"Maybe —"

"No," I interrupted sternly. This wasn't something I needed to argue about. James sighed

"Well, we can't help if it is mono…" he began

"How can you get mono through anything but kissing?" I questioned, James shrugged

"Dunno, I've never had it," he smirked

"Never kissed someone then?" I smirked

"That doesn't mean I've never kissed anyone," James disagreed

"So you have kissed someone?" I asked, he was silent and I smirked before putting a hand on his shoulder. "Don't worry, it'll happen."

"So, who was your first kiss sis?" James asked smugly

"I don't remember, but considering I made out with a lot of people at my birthday party, it could have been anyone. Though I'm sure I've kissed someone before then," I grinned at him and he just rolled his eyes and sighed. "Don't look down on me." I grumbled

"Anyway, can you calm down and stop worrying about Jake now?" James asked

"No." I shot "But I can calm down." James rolled his eyes at me.

"By the way, why aren't you at work?" James suddenly noticed

"Called in sick." I shrugged

"Why?"

"Didn't really feel up to it." I admitted, James shook his head before getting up and leaving me sitting on the couch alone.

It wasn't another two seconds before the phone rang again and I reached forwards to grab it immediately.

"Hello?"

"Hey Alexis," it was Charlie

"Hey Charlie, what's up?" I wondered, a little disappointed it wasn't Jake.

"I was just calling to see how you were."

"I'm fine…" I said confused

"That's good,"

"Why?"

"Bella caught Mike's cold from last night, she hasn't moved from the bathroom."

"She's sick?" I asked

"Pretty bad too. I thought seeing as you were there and Jake has that fever you'd be sick too?" Charlie explained. Mike and Bella were throwing up, Jake had a fever and yet I was perfectly fine. Well except for the bad feeling that had my stomach churning but that wasn't because of a stomach bug.

"Oh. No I'm perfectly healthy." I admitted

"Well, you're the lucky one," he sighed "Have you heard anything about Jake?"

"He's not good." I said softly

"Well, hopefully they all get over it."

"Yeah," I muttered

"See you later then Alexis." Charlie said

"Bye." I sighed and he hung up. Bella was sick, but she didn't have a fever like Jake's, I knew that without needing to be told. Jake's fever was… unusual.

I looked around the room. What was I going to do all day? I couldn't spend it with my friends… they weren't talking to me. Quil was probably busy as it was a Saturday and that's the one day everyone has plans. I brought my knees up to my chest and rested my chin on them.

"Now what?" I questioned myself. I could go for a walk but I bet I'd just end up in more trouble again, like last time…

Last time… I hadn't been able to forget the three huge, horse sized, wolves, they might have even been taller then that. And that girl. The gorgeous red eyed girl. I could still remember the colour of her eyes. I'd never seen a person with red eyes before, nor with such pale skin, or such a perfect figure and poise.

Well, that wasn't true, the Cullens had been pretty similar. Except their eyes weren't red, they were an amber colour… or was it black? The colours were so different and yet I could picture all of them with both. Was it possible to have both? Not the whole, one eye this colour and the other eye another, but both eyes changing. I hadn't heard of it. Then again I hadn't heard of someone who could move that fast with that much grace and have that kind of strength.

I shook my head, every time I thought of this I just ended up coming to the same questions; and they all began with the same word; how. It was like I was missing something, something that wasn't that hard to miss. Like when you're looking for something and it's right in front of you, you just can't see it for some reason. In other words the answers were obvious, I just couldn't see them.

I ground my teeth in annoyance, why can't I see them? Was something preventing me from doing so? I shut my eyes and thought. Red eyes. Hard cold skin. Human figure. Perfect. I thought. Another thing that jumped to my mind was predator, like a hunter.

_"Your scent… it's different"_ scent… does that mean her nose was as good as a dogs? They used smells to find things. But that didn't sound possible.

_"Why aren't you scared? Most people are terrified by now,"_ she even thought of herself as frightening, but I wasn't frightened. This girl had held my neck and threatened to kill me, and yet I hadn't been scared. Just… confused.

_"You know what… I like you."_ I remembered her saying. Like me? Why? Was it cause I wasn't scared? Or cause my scent was different? It was after she mentioned those things that she seemed to like me… but why? Why when she was close to strangling me?

I didn't even realise what time it was before I was brought out of my thoughts by someone saying my name.

"Alexis!" I looked up to see James.

"What?" I asked softly

"You alright?"

"Just thinking," I shrugged

"Right. Well I asked if you wanted some lunch?" I looked at the clock, it was past two

"It's gone lunch."

"So you ate something?" he asked. I shook my head and he rolled his eyes before walking towards the kitchen

"That's alright," I said getting up "I can do it." I walked past him as he paused.

"Sure you're not gonna zone out and cut your fingers off?" he asked with a smirk

"That's not funny," I said to him. He shrugged before walking away. I fried myself an egg and some bacon before putting them into a sandwich.

I finished my fried sandwich and just sat in the chair at the dining table for a while. I looked towards the pantry before getting up, I decided to bake something to keep me busy with.

I bake a heap of cupcakes but I just sort of zoned out and didn't remember the process I used to make them. I didn't remember making the cake that now sat on the bench, completely decorated. I didn't notice when I'd started to cook a slow roast for dinner either.

My thoughts were everywhere, the red eyed, red haired girl. The three giant wolves, black, silver and brown. Jake's fever. Embry's fever. Sam.

Sam.

He was the one who found Bella that day. He'd given Jake that look again.

_"Thanks Sam," I said softly, just higher then a whisper. He looked at me and for some reason I knew he heard me, even from that distance. _

That's right, he'd heard me. Then I'd been to busy worrying about Bella, I hadn't really noticed or cared about the distance in which he heard me from. How? I had barely spoken. How had he found Bella too? No one else could. She was in the middle of no where apparently. How did he know where to look?

I shook my head. I should just be grateful he found her… well, most of her. The way she acted afterwards made it seem like she'd left something behind in those trees. Thank god for Jacob though.

Jacob. If Bella had gotten better because of him, and he did what I was both expecting him to do and hoping he wouldn't do; cut people out, then how would Bella cope? Would she stay… fixed? Or would she go back in her shell? The churning in my stomach got worse as I suddenly feared that Jacob ignoring us all was going to turn out worse then I expected.

But why would he ignore us at all? Why?

My dad was the first one to come home. The second he saw all the baking I'd done, he frowned. Like he knew I was worried. I wasn't sure how, I didn't always bake when I was upset. Did I?

"I saw Jake today," he suddenly said, that snapped me out of my thoughts and I turned to look at him. That's right, Sam met with the council members, they liked Sam, thought he was good for LaPush. I guess that meant his gang was good too.

If my dad was on the council and Sam and his gang had to talk to them then that meant Jake had to talk to my dad. Did that mean he wouldn't cut me out? That would be too good to be true I guess. Like I said before; no one treats me specially just cause my dad's on the council.

"He didn't look good," my dad continued with a frown "Groaned a lot from the pain. It's like he's having a huge growth spurt at the same time," he sighed and shook his head. "Doctors said —"

"Mono," I cut him off

"You spoke to him?" dad asked, I shook my head

"Billy wouldn't let me." my voice was very flat while talking to dad. I guess I personally didn't want him talking to me. All I expected was another lie.

"Well, it's for the best, we don't need it spreading."

"You saw him," I reminded him

"I saw Billy, Jacob was sleeping in his room." he changed his story. I had my back to him as I cooked dinner. I rolled my eyes in annoyance.

"He should be better in a few days." dad said

"Do I get to see him?" I questioned

"I guess so, that's up to Jake," he said, I could hear how he was trying to keep his voice casual, and failing.

"In other words," I turned to glare at my dad "No." I walked past him and up to my room, having cleaned up, put the roast back in the oven and put the timer on. I heard my dad sigh as I walked away. He was the last person I wanted to speak to right now.

The next day I got a call from Bella, she told me she'd spoke to Jake and that his voice was hoarse, cracked, said that everything ached. I told her Billy told me that too.

"Did he say you could visit him?" Bella asked

"No." I admitted

"Did he hang up on you before you could say anything about it?"

"No. He spoke to James not me. I was there though."

"Why'd he speak to James?"

"Turns out he likes James." I muttered

"So you haven't spoken to him or seen him?"

"Billy wont let me. My dad wont even let me," I admitted, an angry look embedded on my face.

"I'm so worried." Bella admitted

"Me too." I confessed. That was true, I was worried. But I worried about that, suspecting he'd be better, but only in a manner of speaking.

"I think I'm gonna give it a week, let Jake rest and get better before I call up again and start expecting a call." Bella said, I could hear the worry in her voice

"That sounds like a plan, better let him rest then annoy him and keep him awake with all the phone calls," I made myself chuckle a little.

"Also, my dad told me not to be a pain." Bella sighed "He thinks Billy knows best."

"I guess he does know what's best for his own child. I mean he has to know what's best for the entire…" I wasn't sure what the word was "Community." I went with. For some reason the word I'd been thinking of, was tribe.

"I guess that's a point," Bella sighed

"How are you doing Bells? You alright?"

"I'm fine," she said bluntly. I didn't believe her.

"Well," I sighed "Guess I'll see you at school tomorrow?" I half asked

"Yeah. See you then Lexi." and she hung up

"See you." I muttered. I didn't want to go to school, but I knew if I didn't I'd be faced with an empty day again. And I didn't want that. I needed to keep myself occupied. Bella's strategy was a smart one, not to bother the Blacks for about a week. I didn't know if I could do that though. I'd never gone more then two days without speaking to Jacob, our families had sort of pushed us together I guess. Though it was one of the best things ever, I'd gotten the best friend I could ever have asked for out of it. Now I was just scared I was going to loose him.

Monday passed fine, school took my mind off things as I joked around with Hailey and had to pull a joke on Jordan. It was difficult to resist when he left himself open in biology like that.

Bella asked me on Tuesday if I'd hear anything, just like she did on Monday. Again I sighed and promised I'd call her the second I did. James was trying to cheer me up, but getting into the car and saying Jake hadn't been at school and obviously wasn't better, didn't help.

It wasn't until Wednesday that I heard anything worth listening too.

"Jake was at school today." James said the second he got into the car that afternoon.

"Seriously?" I questioned. James nodded

"It was weird though, he was different and… freaked."

"Freaked?" I repeated quietly

_"Embry missed a few days of school, but he was never home when we tried to see him. And when he came back, he looked… he looked freaked out. Terrified."_ Jacob had said the same thing about Embry. Just before he'd joined Sam and cut everyone out.

I bit my bottom lip hard in an attempt to keep the tears in. I quickly drove back home but didn't get out when James did.

"I'm going to the gym," I said before quickly driving off. I did go there, but I didn't do anything for twenty minutes. I just sat on the floor. Eventually I managed to pull myself together and get up. Putting on a pair of leggings and a t-shirt I started with the balancing beam.

I lost myself for about an hour before I realised what time it was. Happy I'd managed to clear my head long enough to calm down I drove back home again.

Unfortunately I remembered the reason I left for the gym in the first place. I took a deep breath before walking through the house, I could hear my mother setting the dining table so I guessed dinner was ready.

"Hey honey," she smiled, I couldn't do it. The second I saw her face, I felt my eyes water. She looked at me worried "What's wrong?" she wondered. I just wrapped my arms around her shoulders and clenched my teeth, my eyes closed shut as buried my head in her shoulder, trying not to cry, trying to hold back the sobs and tears.

"It's alright sweetie. It's alright to cry. Why not tell me what's wrong?" she said softly, her voice was soothing, it made me feel better. She stroked my hair as she spoke.

"I'm loosing my best friends." I muttered. She didn't say anything

"What do you mean?" she asked after a few minutes

"They're cutting me out. Ignoring me."

"Jacob's only sick —" I shook my head

"James saw him at school today,"

"Really?" she asked, I nodded. "That doesn't mean he's ignoring you."

"He's been well enough to go to school but didn't call me to tell me he was okay." I said "And I know I sound like I'm over reacting but… this all scares me"

"Scares you?" I nodded "How?" she asked. I thought. I wasn't actually sure how to explain it. I hadn't done a very good job so far. So I just shook my head

"It's alright," she eventually said when she realised I wasn't going to speak. "Everything will be alright."

"When?"

"I don't know, but life has a way of making everything work for the best." she said wisely

"That sounds like a line from a crappy movie," I grumbled. She chuckled and it made me feel a little better.

"Well, I'm not really old enough to be wise." she said. I rolled my eyes

"I thought that was a mother's job?" I stepped back to see her face

"Well, we're only so good." she admitted. I smiled at her

"There's that gorgeous smile," she smiled back "Now, go get cleaned up, you have five minutes before I call you back for dinner." I nodded and turned away to walk up the stairs to the bathroom. Luckily I didn't pass James or my dad on the way.

Thursday, after school, I went to Jacob's house. When I got there it was difficult to miss how empty the house looked.

That's cause it was. I think I knocked on the door for about fifteen minutes before giving up. Obviously, they were ignoring me. Well, Jacob at least, Billy would just tell me to bugger off.

I sighed and stood on the porch looking at the trees. I had to be right didn't I. I had to keep digging and put two things together. I had to make it worse for myself and worry before it actually happened.

I walked slowly back to the car. I wonder if figuring out what was going on would help… if I knew the reason behind all this… Of course no one was going to tell me this reason, that I had to work out for myself, because nothing is ever easy.

By Friday I had driven all my friends mad by always zoning out, thinking over everything I'd noticed to figure out what was going on with my friends. There were the physical developments; Sam, Jared, Paul, Embry and Jacob all had things in common, so that helped. They were all tall, other then Sam they were the same age. They were all Quileute. They all had grown way above the average in such a short time span. Jacob and Embry had both been easily angered. They'd both come down with fevers. They'd all grown heaps of muscle within the last… god knows how long.

When I thought about it, none of these things were normal, really. It seemed us Quileutes — well the boys anyway — had something in them that made them tall, big and bulky.

That just made me frown. James was like that too.

Despite me noticing all these things, I hadn't come up with any explanation to what was going on. I just couldn't put my finger on what these things meant. And that was driving me crazy.

It didn't help when James came home and told me that Jacob was now also ignoring Quil and he was hanging around with Sam. Following his every word.

"It's like Sam's in control or something." James said as we drove home. "Like he has a leash over all of them. Not only that but they've all changed in the same way."

"How do you mean?" I wondered

"They all cut their hair off for one." I stared at James completely stunned

"Jake cut off his hair!?" James nodded

"He has this look too. Like he's not happy,"

"Well considering what Sam was doing to him before, I don't blame him,"

"It's not like that. It's more like when you tell a child to do something they don't want to, like eat their vegetables," James said confused. "I've seen them walking around outside of school when I'm hanging around with my friends, the walk around in the freezing rain wearing nothing." I looked at him completely stunned but James just rolled his eyes at my expression

"Not like that. They're wearing shorts, but that's it."

"Just shorts?" I clarified. He nodded "In this weather?" he nodded again. Well that didn't make a spot of sense.

"So what's happening with Quil?" I wondered, feeling bad for him

"He's hanging with me." James said. I knew he didn't mind, Quil was one of his best mates too. I glanced at James

"James," I said, he looked at me "Has Sam been giving you weird looks too?" I wondered. James turned back to the window. I took that as my answer "If you come down with a fever and dad tells you something, do you promise to tell me what he says?" I asked

"Not that again —"

"James," I said cutting him off.

"Of course I promise. What could be so bad that I wouldn't tell you about it?"

"Ask Jacob and Embry." I grumbled.


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 9:

I went back to work on Saturday. I stopped by the Black's house again, but no one answered the door.

"Thanks for ignoring me Black," I muttered before walking back to my car and leaving. Work had moved slowly. I was stuck behind a cash register, forced to be nice to people.

It was tiring.

I was so happy when I got home. Only I sat down for two minutes before the phone rang.

"Hello?" I asked with a sigh

"Lexi," it was Bella, and she didn't sound good.

"What's wrong?" I asked immediately.

"I just called Jake."

"Did he answer?" I asked immediately

"No, but Billy did. Seems the phone lines are working again."

"Phone lines?" I questioned

"Yeah, I couldn't get through." she admitted. A glare worked it's way onto my face. My dad had called Billy several times this week. They were fine. I didn't want to make Bella more worried then she already was though, so I didn't tell her this.

"What did he say?"

"Jacob's fine." was all she said

"Have you seen him?"

"No. Billy said he's out all day with his friends, going to Port Angeles." Bella explained. Wait, so Billy had picked up the land line from home? Then he just ignored me earlier? Well it was good to know they were both ignoring me.

"Have you been round?" Bella asked me

"Yeah."

"And?"

"Nothing." I sighed "No answer. I went around this morning too, turns out there was no one there. I guess now I know they were just ignoring me."

"Oh, Lex, I'm sorry," Bella said, feeling guilty

"It's not your fault. I'm just confused as to why Jake seems to be avoiding me. That's all."

"Avoiding you?"

"Well, I don't know if he is, just that he hasn't been home when I've gone to see him. Now it turns out Billy was home yet no one answered,"

"But why —" Bella began

"I don't know." I said, not wanting to go through this conversation yet again. There was silence for while.

"Lex," Bella began

"Yeah?" I wondered

"I really don't want to be stuck in the house…" she began "Will you come hiking with me? Maybe we could cross a few lines off before Jake comes with us again…" she sounded like she was half begging. To tell the truth I didn't want to stay home either.

"Sure," I agreed.

"Thanks." she said

"So I'll meet you at the start point in," I looked at the clock "Say, twenty minutes?"

"Deal." Bella agreed

"See you soon." and I hung up. This would be good. Maybe Bella could distract my mind, maybe for once I could do the same to her.

I was at the road sooner then I needed to be, but waiting around at home wasn't fun, especially when it's completely empty.

It was difficult to miss the usual roar of Bella's engine as it dawned closer. I was sitting in my car when I heard it pull up.

"Hey Bells," I smiled when she cut the engine.

"Hey," she said as she jumped out of the car. I got up and walked towards her.

"So, which road are we talking?" I asked

"I don't know," Bella admitted as she pulled the map out of her pocket. "I thought I'd leave that part up to you." she said sheepishly. I smiled at her

"We don't want to get lost, so maybe that's smart." I agreed. I took the compass and laid the map out on the hood of Bella's car. It only took me about five minutes to figure out where to go, I hadn't memorised the map like Jacob had.

"Come on," I smiled "This way." Bella nodded and I lead the way into the trees.

It was cloudy, but almost dry — a very nice day, for Forks. The forest was full of life, all the little creatures enjoying the momentary dryness. The birds chirping and cawing, the insects buzzing noisily around our heads and the occasional scurry of the field mice through the shrubs could be heard. Other then that — and the sound of feet squishing across the damp ground — it was silent.

I didn't walk as fast today. Not just so that Bella could keep up, but so that I didn't need to rush. I was in no hurry to get back home, and I could tell that Bella wasn't either.

It was weird, walking through the woods without Jacob, his whistling had kept the quiet away, stopped it from being so silent. The silence between Bella and I wasn't awkward, it was just, long.

"How long have we been walking for?" Bella suddenly asked

"Um," I stopped to look at my watch and Bella stood next to me "About forty-five minutes." I confessed. I was surprised, I swear we hadn't been walking for that long. Well, I guess time flies when you're having fun.

"So…" I started doing the maths in my head "I think we're about five miles from the cars." I said "Want to keep going?" I asked. Bella nodded and trudged past me. I smiled, I guess this was something to keep her mind off of things. It was only now that I realised that trudging through the woods was actually doing me good. I was to busy worrying where to put my feet, then to think about Jake.

I began to look around as I followed Bella through a low arch made by two vine maples — pushing past the chest-high ferns — and into a meadow.

We stood at the tree line, neither of us taking another step forwards as we looked at it. I'd never seen another clearing so symmetrical. It was as perfectly round as if someone had intentionally created the flawless circle, tearing out the trees but leaving no evidence of that violence in the waving grass. To the east, I could hear a stream bubbling quietly.

"This place is beautiful," I muttered, mainly to myself. The ground was thick with tall grass that swayed in the light breeze like ripples across a lake. "Is this it?" I asked

I turned to look at Bella in time to see her sink down right where she was, kneeling there at the edge of the clearing, beginning to gasp. I immediately knelt next to her and began to rub her back. Guess this was my answer.

In the first few months after Edward had left, this had happened to Bella frequently, but mainly when someone reminded her of him, in anyway. This place must have had some memory that involved him.

I didn't say anything. I knew she didn't want to explain anything, and I didn't need her too. So I just rubbed her back while she wrapped her arms around herself, as if to hold herself together, and gasped.

I could feel Bella, under my arms, trying to find the strength to get to her feet again, forcing herself out of the ball so that she could escape. She must have wanted to find this place because it reminded her of him. Did she know she was going to feel pain by it? Did spending time with Jacob make her forget this was what happened when she did remember Edward?

"It's alright Bella," I told her. She didn't look at me, but kept her eyes shut.

I eventually helped her stand up on her feet, but I froze before we could leave the meadow. A chill ran up my spin.

I knew that chill.

I turned my head in time to see a figure stepped out from the trees to the north, some thirty

paces away. He seemed to pause when he spotted us. I watched the motionless figure, seeing the utter stillness, the pallid skin. It was a man. Well, it looked like a man but something told me otherwise. His hair was black and in dreadlocks, but that wasn't what caught my eyes. It was his eyes. They were the same. The same as the red headed girl. They were blood red. Except that she was extremely pale, they were almost exactly alike.

"Laurent!" Bella suddenly cried. I looked at her shocked. She knew this person?

"Bella?" he asked, looking astonished. His voice had the same effect as the girl's did, making the hairs on the back of my neck stand up.

"You remember." Bella smiled. I didn't know how she knew him, but I had a feeling this wasn't a good thing.

"And…" Laurent looked at me.

"Alexis," I answered, my voice strong and cautious. He looked me up and down before returning to Bella.

"I didn't expect to see you here." He strolled toward us, his expression bemused.

"Isn't it the other way around? I do live here. I thought you'd gone to Alaska." Bella said. I just stood, my eyes now staying focused on Laurent. Not missing a single movement he made.

He stopped about ten paces away, cocking his head to the side.

"You're right," he agreed. "I did go to Alaska. Still, I didn't expect… When I found the Cullen place empty, I thought they'd moved on." he knew the Cullens? Was that how Bella knew him?

"Oh." Bella bit her lip as he said their name. She paused as Laurent waited with curious eyes. "They did move on," she finally managed to tell him. I didn't miss the way they said it; moved on, instead of just moved.

"Hmm," he murmured. "I'm surprised they left you behind. Weren't you sort of a pet of

theirs?" His eyes were innocent of any intended offence. Bella smiled wryly.

"Something like that." A pet? I stared at his red eyes, they made me feel the same way I'd felt when I'd seen the girl; defensive.

"Hmm," he said, thoughtful again. Bella suddenly took an involuntary step back, and his curious, dark red eyes followed the movement.

"Do they visit often?" he asked, still casual, but his weight shifted toward us.

"Now and again." Bella said. My eyes flickered to her. She was lying? They'd never been back… "The time seems longer to me, I imagine. You know how they get distracted…" Bella was beginning to babble.

"Hmm," he said again. "The house smelled like it had been vacant for a while..." again with the smelling thing. What was with these red eyed people and having a good nose?

"I'll have to mention to Carlisle that you stopped by. He'll be sorry they missed your

visit." Bella deliberated for a second, but something was wrong now. She seemed afraid. "But I probably shouldn't mention it to… Edward, I suppose —" Bella barely managed to say his name, and it twisted her expression on the way out, ruining the bluff "— he has such a temper… well, I'm sure you remember. He's still touchy about the whole James thing." Bella rolled her eyes and waved one hand dismissively. James? Some how I knew she wasn't speaking about my brother, but about something unknown to me. I could tell during this entire conversation that I was missing something big, something that would make it all make sense.

"Is he really?" Laurent asked pleasantly… skeptically. Bella kept her reply short

"Mm-hmm." Laurent took a casual step to the side, gazing around at the little meadow. I didn't miss that the step brought him closer to us.

"So how are things working out in Denali? Carlisle said you were staying with Tanya?" Bella's voice was too high. The question made him pause.

"I like Tanya very much," he mused. "And her sister Irina even more… I've never stayed in one place for so long before, and I enjoy the advantages, the novelty of it. But, the restrictions are difficult… I'm surprised that any of them can keep it up for long." He smiled at her conspiratorially. "Sometimes I cheat." Cheat? Cheat at what? Bella's foot started to ease back, Laurent saw this. Bella was backing away. I hadn't moved an inch, which left me standing ahead of Bella now, and closer to Laurent. My eyes hadn't left Laurent for more then a second at a time. I felt like if I did look away for to long, I'd miss something.

"Oh," Bella said in a faint voice. "Jasper has problems with that, too." Jasper? I really wanted to just blurt out and ask what the hell they were talking about, but something was making me hold my tongue.

"Really?" Laurent seemed interested. "Is that why they left?"

"No," Bella answered honestly. "Jasper is more careful at home."

"Yes," Laurent agreed. "I am, too." Careful with what? The step forward he took now was quite deliberate.

"Did Victoria ever find you?" Bella asked, breathless. For some reason when Bella said that name, an image of the red head flashed through my mind. Was that Victoria? The question stopped him.

"Yes," he said, hesitating on that step. "I actually came here as a favour to her." He made a

face. "She won't be happy about this." I suddenly felt weary, like what ever was going to happen next was not going to be good.

"About what?" Bella said eagerly, inviting him to continue. He was glaring into the trees, away from us. Bella took advantage of his diversion, taking a furtive step back. He looked back at Bella and smiled – the expression made him look like a black-haired angel.

"About me killing you," he answered in a seductive purr. Bella staggered back another step.

At his words I took a step towards Bella and took her hand in mine, glaring at him. I don't know what was wrong with me, Bella knew him and was scared, so why wasn't I? Why was I giving him a glare like I was warning him, almost daring him to try.

Bella jumped when I touch her hand and finally looked at me, like she'd forgotten I was even here. She examined me for a second before her eyes widened with horror, she looked at Laurent and then back at me. I could see terror filling her eyes in my peripheral vision. Our movements didn't effect Laurent at all as he continued.

"She wanted to save that part for herself," he went on blithely. "She's sort of… put out with

you, Bella."

"Me?" Bella squeaked. Her hand was tightening on mine, but that was alright. He shook his head and chuckled.

"I know, it seems a little backward to me, too. But James was her mate, and your Edward killed him." Edward killed someone?! That had to be the most shocking news I'd heard out of this entire conversation.

I remembered the predator thought I'd had. A predator killed. But that was when I was thinking about the girl, not the Cullens. At that point all the similarities flashed through my mind. They were the same. Even Laurent standing here was the same. But why? I felt stupid, like I should know the answer.

"She thought it more appropriate to kill you than Edward – fair turnabout, mate for mate. She asked me to get the lay of the land for her, so to speak. I didn't imagine you would be so easy to get to. So maybe her plan was flawed – apparently it wouldn't be the revenge she imagined, since you must not mean very much to him if he left you here unprotected." I glared harder at Laurent, she'd just gotten better and here this guy was telling her shit. This thought clouded the part about how this Victoria was after Bella. Wanted to kill her in fact, because Edward had apparently killed her boyfriend.

That was a lot of killing for one town, why hadn't we heard of such a thing happening? When did it happen? Bella had a lot of explaining to do when this was over… if we lived that is. I guess I finally grasped the concept that we were in a life threatening situation, and yet I was still trying to comfort Bella, squeezing her hand every now and then. I still wasn't frightened.

_"What is wrong with me?"_ I questioned for what felt like the dozenth time. Laurent's weight shifted slightly, and Bella stumbled another step back. I held her hand to keep her balanced as I was now standing in front of her. She looked at me again, the worry filling her completely now. He frowned.

"I suppose she'll be angry, all the same."

"Then why not wait for her?" Bella choked out. She wasn't even going to bargain for her life? Wow, Bella was braver then I gave her credit for. Though her worry and fear was spilling out through her voice. A mischievous grin rearranged his features.

"Well, you've caught me at a bad time, Bella, you and your friend." Bella's hand tightened even more around mine and her other hand took my wrist. I didn't move. "I didn't come to this place on Victoria's mission – I was hunting. I'm quite thirsty, and you do smell… simply mouthwatering." Thirsty? Hunting? Mouthwatering? Laurent's eyes turned to me and I saw the same confusion fill his face as it had the red head, like something about me was… different.

_"Why do you smell like that? Your scent… it's different"_ Was that why?

"He'll know it was you," Bella suddenly whispered. "You won't get away with this." was she threatening him? When he was supposedly about to kill her?

"And why not?" Laurent's smile widened. He gazed around the small opening in the trees.

"The scent will wash away with the next rain. No one will find your body – you'll simply go

missing, like so many, many other humans. There's no reason for Edward to think of me, if he cares enough to investigate. This is nothing personal, let me assure you, Bella. Just thirst." Missing like other humans? Was he the one killing them? What happened to the bears though? And there was that word again; thirst…

"Please," Bella gasped. Now she was begging. Laurent shook his head, his face kind.

"Look at it this way, Bella. You're very lucky I was the one to find you."

"Am I?" Bella mouthed, faltering another step back. This time she pulled me with her, luckily I didn't fall over. Laurent followed, lithe and graceful.

"Yes," he assured her. "I'll be very quick. You won't feel a thing, I promise. Oh, I'll lie to

Victoria about that later, naturally, just to placate her. But if you knew what she had planned for you, Bella…" He shook his head with a slow movement, almost as if in disgust. "I swear you'd be thanking me for this." Bella stared at him in horror. He sniffed at the breeze that blew threads of mine and Bella's hair in his direction. "Mouthwatering," he

repeated, inhaling deeply. I took a step sideways, in front of Bella. Laurent seemed amused by this.

"Don't touch her." I said seriously. I was surprised by how serious and threatening my voice actually sounded. Laurent actually looked at me surprised, as did Bella. I actually sounded almost frightening. Laurent looked me up and down before something else drew my attention away. I slowly turned my head to the side, looking towards the trees. I couldn't make out why I looked, but something in me made me do it.

I wasn't the only one, Laurent paused and whipped his head abruptly to the left. Laurent suddenly began to back away from us, I looked confused, for some reason this action didn't seem right.

"I don't believe it," he said, his voice so low that I barely heard it. I looked at him, he was retreating more quickly now, his eyes boring into the forest. I looked back just in time to see it step out of the trees. A huge black shape eased out of the trees, quiet as a shadow, and stalked deliberately toward Laurent. It was enormous–as tall as a horse, but thicker, much more muscular. The long muzzle grimaced, revealing a line of dagger-like incisors. A grisly snarl rolled out from between the teeth, rumbling across the clearing like a prolonged crack of thunder.

The black wolf.

It padded silently through the grass a mere ten feet from where Bella and I stood. Bella's grip on my hand and wrist increased some more. I glanced at her to see a look of pure shock and surprise on her face as she stared the wolf.

Another growl rumbled in its throat, and Bella shuddered away from the sound. Laurent was backing toward the edge of the trees, he was afraid. His eyes were wide with horror, just like Bella's. I found this weird, this guy, who threatened to kill Bella, who frightened her and looked menacing, who put off a fierce vibe, was backing away. I looked at Bella, was I the only one here who wasn't afraid?

Suddenly the mammoth wolf was not alone. Flanking it on either side, another two gigantic beasts prowled silently into the meadow. One was a deep grey, the other brown, neither one quite as tall as the first. The grey wolf came through the trees only a few feet from Bella and I, its eyes locked on Laurent.

_"I'd been wondering where they were,"_ two more wolves I'd expected. But I didn't expect what happened next. Two more wolves followed, lined up in a V, like geese flying south. Which meant that the rusty brown monster that shrugged through the brush last was close enough for me to touch.

Bella gave an involuntary gasp and jumped back, yanking on my arm as she did. She suddenly froze again and waited, as if expecting the wolves to turn on us. They hadn't hurt me the last time I'd seen them, so why would they hurt us now?

I stared at the two new wolves surprised. One was a russet colour, the other grey with black spots.

"There's five," I breathed under my breath. There'd only been three not a few weeks ago? Where'd the other two come from? I saw Bella look at me, obviously having heard me speak, but I ignored her.

The wolf closest to Bella and I, the reddish brown one, turned its head slightly at the sound of Bella's gasp. I looked away and back at the retreating Laurent as Bella stared at the wolf. Then another low growl from the leader caused the russet wolf to whip his head around, back toward Laurent.

Now it made it official, the black one was the alpha.

Laurent was staring at the pack of monster wolves with unconcealed shock and fear. I just stared at him before suddenly, without warning, he spun and disappeared into the trees. He ran just as fast at the girl had, leaving the meadow before I could even blink.

The wolves were after him in a second, sprinting across the open grass with a few powerful bounds, snarling and snapping so loudly that Bella's hands left mine and flew up instinctively to cover her ears. I didn't bother, it wasn't that bad. The sound faded with surprising swiftness once they disappeared into the woods.

And then Bella and I were alone, left in the sudden silence.

Bella's knees buckled under her, and she fell onto her hands. I didn't move, still staring confused after were the wolves had disappeared.

Bella's arms and legs were shaking, as she sobbed, the fear having obviously built up too much by now.

A cold breeze whipped through the meadow, swaying the grass like something was moving through it. I turned to look at Bella just in time to see her scramble to her feet.

Stumbling in panic, she turned and ran headlong into the trees. I was about to call after her, but didn't. I just turned back to the meadow.

What had that all been about? Thirst, killing, eye for an eye? Mouthwatering? Bella lying about the Cullens? Those red eyes!

This was driving me absolutely crazy. I put my hand on my head, my eyes shut before I remembered something; Bella was running blindly through the forest. She was bound to get lost yet again.

I groaned and turned around, leaving the meadow. I took one last look before leaving, jogging back towards the car and, hopefully, after Bella.

I reached the cars easily. Bella's truck was still here and I looked around, she was no where to be found.

"Oh prefect." I muttered. I opened my car door and sat in the drivers seat, door open. I wasn't going to walk in to the trees and look for her, we could both get lost doing that.

I remembered Bella had the compass, I just hoped she used it and found her way back.

Quite a few hours passed before Bella suddenly turned up, walking down the road.

"Oh thank god." I sighed. I got up and walked towards her, she paused when she saw me and looked me up and down before relaxing.

I pulled her into a hug before standing back and taking a look at her.

"Jeez, what happened?" I questioned. Bella was covered in dirt and mud. Her clothes were ripped and she had a few cuts, there were leaves in her hair which looked like a birds nest as some twigs were intertwined with it.

"Are you alright?" I asked when she didn't answer. Bella didn't say anything, she still looked terrified, so I stepped aside and watched as she climbed into her truck and turned the engine on.

I waved to her as she backed out and disappeared down the road. I felt worried, Bella had been terrified. Guess I couldn't blame her, that Laurent guy had threatened to kill her. Though I was still confused about the whole thing I decided Bella wasn't up for explanations right now.

I got into my car and followed Bella towards the highway before turning off towards home. The evening's events replayed over and over again in my mind, like a song set on repeat. You'd think that Bella and Laurent's conversation would be the most confusing thing, but no. The most confusing thing that was troubling me was that there was suddenly two knew wolves! How can two more wolves show up, that big, in the space of a few weeks? It didn't sound possible. But nothing sounded logical anymore. Hey that guy had been talking about Bella being mouthwatering and threatening to kill her for some thirst… why did that sound familiar?

I didn't get the chance to question myself on it as I walked through the front door of my house, it didn't take me more then a minute to realise something was wrong. I looked around, the house seemed empty. I glanced outside to see both my parents cars here, so they were home. They weren't the kind to walk often.

I heard footsteps upstairs and dumped my keys, shoes and jacket at the front door before running up the stairs.

James's door was slightly ajar and I walked over to it and pushed the door open. James was lying on his bed, panting. I was by his side in an instant and felt his forehead

"Oh no," I muttered, now I was the one who was terrified. James had a fever.

"Lex?" he asked

"Hey," I said softly. He smirked for a second

"Turned out you were right," he muttered "I did get a fever."

"Yeah, and you doubted me," I said with a weak smile as I looked him over. He looked bigger again.

"Where've you been?" he wondered, his voice cracked.

"Never mind me. How do you feel?" I questioned

"Sore. Everything aches. It's awful."

"When did this happen?" I demanded to know

"Few hours ago,"

"Where's mum and dad?"

"In their room somewhere." James shrugged, but he winced in the process.

"James, did they say anything?" I questioned. He was silent. "You promised —"

"No," James said forcefully. I frowned

"You're already lying to me." I muttered.

"Alexis!" I turned around to see my father standing in the doorway. He looked horrified for a second before masking his expression. "James needs to sleep, you should leave him be." he half demanded. I stood up and death glared him.

"Oh, so now you're going to forbid me from seeing my own brother too?" I accused angrily. Dad looked at me both guiltily and seriously.

"Alexis? Are you home?" my mother called from another room. Well that was typical, call me over to get me out from my brother's room. Guess mum's in on it.

I turned back to James

"I'll be back," I promised. Before standing up and basically shoving past my dad.

Could this day get any worse?


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter 10:

I jinxed myself. The day did get worse, in fact, the entire weekend got worse. Mum and dad basically banned me from seeing James, banned me from his room like I'd done something wrong. They wouldn't tell my anything either.

They fed me the mono lie, just like the Blacks had. Naturally it turned out Jake didn't have mono and got better within three days. So I had till Tuesday afternoon for James to stop talking to me.

It didn't amaze me that all the boys seemed to be changing like this. Paul, Embry, Jacob now James. But I couldn't blame Sam for it, it wasn't his fault they came down with a fever, it just seemed that afterwards the boys went to Sam, as if for help. And then of course, they stopped talking to their friends and basically started new lives of walking around in the forest.

Sick of my parents lies I started locking myself in my room just so that I didn't have to see them. I cooked dinner before they got home so that I didn't have to eat with them, I never saw them in the mornings but I got up earlier on Monday and Tuesday just incase.

In order to keep my mind occupied and off of James, I thought about Bella and my hike on Saturday, still trying to make sense of it all.

Bella was giving me anxious looks, I hadn't spoken to her yet and I think because of that she thought I was avoiding her. She kept sending me looks across the cafeteria and in biology she turned around to look at me. I was all willing to ask her about it, but for some reason it was like I didn't want answers. I wouldn't talk to her about it.

To get her off of my back though I started smiling at her in corridors on Tuesday. That seemed to ease her mind a little.

When I woke up Wednesday morning, I didn't want to go to school. I wanted to stay with James. Seeing as I hadn't seen him since Saturday I decided my parents wouldn't notice if I went and said hello this morning. They were asleep and couldn't do anything about it anyway. I very quietly turned the door handle and opened the to see James asleep in his bed. I smiled, he didn't seem to be suffering anymore. I'd heard a few groans and hisses of pain over the last three days.

It wasn't until I got closer that I noticed the difference about him. James was suddenly much taller then before, which was saying something. He hardly fit on his bed anymore. And the muscles that he had apparently grown while being sick… I hesitated in feeling his temperature before I lightly touched his forehead, he stirred but didn't move.

He was bloody hot! It was like he still had a fever but he was fine. Like Embry.

"Please don't cut me out," I muttered before kissing his forehead. I left the room as silently as I'd entered, closing the door behind me.

How could his physic change that much from him lying in bed with a fever, sick?

The day passed and I was rather silent at school. So much that Hailey started asking if I was alright.

"Just family stuff," I sighed with a shrug. She looked at me before accepting that. It was the the truth, just there was some hidden reason behind it.

When I got home I noticed both my parents cars were missing. I guess they decided they couldn't have more then two days off. Which meant they weren't home.

I walked up the stairs and to James' door before I walked in. I was about to ask him how he was when I looked around surprised. The room was empty.

I almost panicked and texted my mother to ask if James had gone to school if I was meant to pick him up, but then I remembered that that would give away the fact that I ignored their sudden solid rule. So I didn't. I stood at James room door for a while before sighing and shutting the door.

"And the suspicion begins." I muttered. I walked downstairs and baked about two dozen cookies before taking one and going upstairs to do some homework. My door shut just as it had been the last few days. Though my window I left open so that it wouldn't get stuffy in the room.

I didn't miss when I heard my parents walk upstairs and open my brother's door. I paused to listen, but the second the saw that the room was empty they just walked away again. I'd been half expecting them to ask me where he was, but I also didn't expect anything less.

I ate dinner with my parents that night, though I didn't say a word to them, even when they started talking to me, I just ignored them. Unless it was the truth, I didn't care.

I finished all my homework, even getting ahead of it before I had a shower and climbed into bed. I'd forgotten to close my window, but after I heard a noise, I was grateful. I got up and peered outside my window, just in time to see someone disappear into the forest and leave my brother standing in our garden alone. He was just like them, shirtless, only wearing shorts. And short cropped hair. He'd cut it all off. I frowned. He was just the same. I felt a tear escape but only one fell before I became curious. It was hard not to miss the tattoo my brother suddenly had on his right shoulder.

It was a beautiful tattoo, but I'd never depicted my brother as the type… I wonder if it had something to do with Sam, like a symbol that you were in his group.

I watched as James turned around and headed towards the house. The look on his face wasn't one I'd seen him with before. I wasn't sure what it was, what emotion it corresponded with but I didn't have much time to decide before James walked through the back door and into the house.

I sat down on my bed and listened as James walked up the stairs and into his room. I heard his bed squeak before there was silence.

Right there and then I knew I wouldn't be able to take much more of this. What ever was going on, I had to know. I needed to know.

Thursday, James was there, he was at home, he was awake when I got up. When I walked downstairs he was sitting at the kitchen bench, eating my cookies. I stopped when I saw they were all gone.

"Dude! You ate all me cookies?!" I asked in disbelief "I'd only made them yesterday," I sighed. I stood there, waiting for a grin to spread on his face and for him to say something along the lines of;

"You shouldn't have left them there unprotected" but he didn't. James didn't even look up when I spoke. He just continued to stare out the window. Why didn't that surprise me?

I made us both some breakfast and watched James as he wolfed the whole thing down in seconds. I stared at him surprised

"You want some more there?" I questioned, he didn't answer and I rolled my eyes.

I finished my breakfast and walked back to my room to collect my school work and my bag. I walked to the door and pulled my shoes on before heading out to the car. Just as I was putting the key in the ignition the passenger door opened and James got in. I glared at him before I turned the key and turned the music up, trying to drown out his presence.

I was sort of annoyed at myself to; my brother was ignoring me, and I was still being nice.

_"Stupid big sister thing."_ I blamed it on that, I couldn't help but look after my little brother.

When we reached James' school he climbed out and I drove off the second the door shut, not even bothering to say goodbye as he didn't even bother to. I looked in my rearview mirror to see him watching after me with a frown.

It hurt to see him upset but if he was going to ignore me and not tell me what was going on then he could deal with me being pissed about it. He'd broken his promise after all.

Jacob had too, and not just to me, but to Bella too. Guess Quileutes aren't all that good after all.

Bella walked up to me when I got out of my car at school.

"Lexi," she said, I looked at her, this was the first time we'd spoken since our hiking trip. "About Saturday…" she began

"It's alright, are you okay?" I wondered. She nodded before shaking her head

"That's not what I mean…" she began again "About what you heard…"

"If you're worried I'm going to tell someone, then don't worry, I'm to confused about that." I assured her "I would like some answers about that by the way…" she frowned but didn't speak. I sighed

"Alright. I can take a hint." I was good at knowing when people had something to hide. I think it was why I was so pissed at my family, especially seeing as they all knew what was going on but me.

"I'm sorry Lex," Bella apologised

"Yeah, everyone is." I muttered

"Have you heard from Jake?" she asked changing the subject

"No." I sighed "You?" Bella shook her head

"I don't get it, he's all better but he wont talk to me. My dad came home on Saturday and said he'd seen Jake arguing with some of his friends in front of the store. Billy had said he was going to Port Angeles…" she sounded hurt and worried

"A lie, wow, there's something new." I said, my voice dripping with sarcasm

"Do you know something?"

"Only that my brother's ignoring me."

"What?"

"He had a fever Bella, when I got home from our hike. He spent three days in bed and hasn't spoken to me since. This morning was the first time I've seen him awake since Saturday. My parents basically banned me from his room. He's done the same thing Jake has." I explained

"He's ignoring you?" Bella asked, I nodded

"My own brother, it's sort of difficult when we live in the same house. But he's doing it."

"Oh, Lex, I'm sorry," she felt guilty for pushing her problems and worries to me when I had my own. I shook my head

"It's not your fault Bells," I assured her

"Still," Bella muttered "Are you alright?"

"Just annoyed." I shrugged

"What are you going to do?"

"Shout, scream, get angry." I listed "Anything to make him talk to me." I admitted. The bell rang and I waved to Bella before running off to my first class. I didn't really want to talk about this anymore.

I went home before I went to work the evening, the house was empty which wasn't a surprise.

Work passed rather quickly and I asked my manager if I could have Saturday off.

"Why?"

"I have some family issues that popped up," I admitted, my manager stared at me for a second before he agreed, obviously happy I'd given him a few days notice this time.

"Thanks." I said. The rest of the shift flew by and I was driving home again before I knew it.

I walked in to find James sitting on the couch watching TV. I ignored him as he did me before I began to cook dinner. I made some for James too and put it in a bow, James came and sat at the bench and was about to take his bowl before I pulled it away, glaring at him. He looked at me

"What?" he said harshly

"Why should I be kind to someone who wont even talk to me?" I said, angrily. He drew his hand back

"You made me some?"

"Well seeing as your appetites increased I thought it would make great leverage." I confessed. That reminded me of when the red head had said the same thing.

"What?" he questioned, clenching his teeth

"Why aren't you talking to me? I can understand if you with hold shit but not talking to me at all is just rude." I explained

"I didn't need you accusing me of lying," he said harshly

"Then don't lie." I said simply. He just glared at me

"It's not that easy…"

"Oh?" I nodded "Right, I forgot, you've never been good at being honest with me," this wasn't true, James used to tell me everything. Just like Jacob and Embry had. I could see both sadness and anger filling James' eyes.

"If it's that difficult you don't need to tell me straight away, but I don't need my own brother not talking to me at all." I confessed "I'm not unreasonable James," I said harshly "But I don't need my best friends cutting me out and my brother," I admitted. He didn't reply. I just glared at him and clenched my teeth before basically dropping the bowls on the bench and leaving the room. Obviously I couldn't even get a hi in the morning. Was that too much to ask?

I didn't eat dinner that night and I didn't leave my room till the next morning, early, so that I didn't see anyone.

I left to early for school so I went to the gym. I hadn't been in about a week, it was about time I let loose a little.

Time flew and before I knew it I was late for class. Luckily I managed to get there before it was classified as late.

Today passed slowly as all I thought about was the conversation I had with James. Bella asked me how I was doing, if James had spoke to me, I just said no, I was not up for explanations right now.

I wasn't sure if I was upset anymore. I was just filled with anger, and no one to direct it at. I couldn't direct it at James cause it was for Jake and Embry too. I thought of aiming it at Sam, but I didn't know if this was actually his doing or not. Sure he was involved but I didn't know if he was behind it all.

Then there was my parents. But if I was going to be angry at my parents I might as well be angry with the entire council as they seemed to know what was going on and weren't stopping it. The opposite in fact, they were encouraging it.

The day ended and I again didn't go home. Instead I went to First Beach. I walked along it for a while, ignoring the cold and the slight wind that blew my hair in front of my face. I eventually stopped and ended up just sitting on the sand, staring out at the ocean as the sun slowly set. Though you could hardly tell thanks to the usual cloud cover.

I had my knees brought up to my chest and my arms around them. I wasn't shivering so that was a good thing, as I had no intention on moving. It was quiet here, everyone had gone home as the afternoon passed and the weather got colder. I didn't really notice as the sky got darker.

It wasn't difficult to hear the trudging of footsteps towards me as it was dark, you could hardly see much, but my eyes were adjusted fine enough.

"What are you doing?" he asked harshly

"None of you business." I spat without looking at my brother. I didn't even care about how he found me, I wanted him to go away.

"You'll catch a cold,"

"I'm fine." I hissed angrily

"Mum and dad will worry,"

"They should of thought about that earlier." I growled. I just wanted him to leave me alone. I wanted everyone to leave me alone with my thoughts for a while. James sighed and leaned down his hand outstretched as he went to grab my hand

"Don't touch me!" I demanded turning slightly towards him, my voice, angry, harsh and threatening. James paused, froze actually before he very slowly stood back up straight, as though he was being cautious. He should be cautious, I was in no mood to feel sisterly.

"Lex,"

"Don't!" I interrupted strongly. I didn't want him calling me that just now, it sounded like he was trying to sooth me. "Unless you're going to tell me the truth."

"I can't,"

"I don't see why that's got to make you stop talking to me," I said immediately

"I'm talking to you now…"

"Because mum and dad are worried I'm not home yet. You have to talk to me now. There's a difference." I said harshly.

"Will you just come home and stop freaking mum and dad out?" he sounded like he was begging but trying to keep that fact hidden from his voice

"If I'm punishing them, then no." I decided "It's not like I'm lost,"

"You'll get sick."

"Not like anyone will care, or notice. They're not talking to me anymore." I was trying to hurt him, but not just him, all of them. Make them realise how much it hurt to be cut out by everyone

"You're being stupid."

"No, I'm being a pain in the ass. I'm making you all feel guilty because this is all your fault." I corrected

"Well it's working now will you come home?" he questioned, I could hear that he was annoyed now. I stood up and turned to walk away from him

"Where are you going? Home's the other way?" he said a little louder, he didn't need to, I could hear him perfectly.

I didn't answer him, I just kept walking. Guess he didn't remember I'd driven here.

It didn't take me long to reach the car and I got in before driving home. He was right, I was being stupid, but could you blame me?

"Where have you been?" my mother demanded to know when I walked in through the door

"Away from you." I snapped as I walked past her and to the stairs

"This attitude has got to stop…" she began to scold me

"So has all the lying!" I shouted at her "That's when it'll stop. When I'm sure my entire family isn't lying to me!" she looked at me surprised

"Are you…"

"Accusing you? Yes I am." I finished her sentence "And don't you dare try to deny it." I said, my voice more like a harsh whisper now. I turned to see my dad standing down the hallway before walking back up the stairs. Damn I was being a bitch. I'd never yelled at my mother like that but I couldn't help it. I was filled to the brim with anger, annoyance and sadness. It was like everyone was just excluding me from their lives all of a sudden. Throwing me away.

I wonder if this is how Bella felt when Edward left her. No. She was much worse, I can't compare this to her pain. I was just being a selfish little girl. But no one wants to have their friends and family ignoring and lying to them.

Why could I tell when someone was lying? If I couldn't tell I wouldn't be so upset… right?

I woke up Saturday morning with my face dried and cracked again. Had I fallen asleep crying?

I walked into the bathroom and washed my face. I guess after snapping at James so much and yelling some of my anger out at my parents, I felt a little better. If only I could go somewhere and scream all my problems out. To bad there was that girl out there… maybe, and those giant wolves. It probably wasn't safe.

I took my time getting ready and in that time I realised James wasn't home. He'd probably gotten up at some absurd hour and snuck out again. Though it wasn't really sneaking when he just walked out the back door, not caring if mum or dad caught him. Which they didn't. They didn't even seem to care.

No one did. And that was one of the things that annoyed me. I didn't understand how cutting everyone out made them saints in the eyes of the council. It made no sense.

I made myself breakfast before sitting on the couch and watching TV. I wasn't really watching it though, I wasn't even paying attention.

I looked outside. I really felt like another walk, but no one would be happy about it… I got up and decided to do it anyway. Screw everyone else. I pulled a good pair of walking shoes on and walked.

I walked slowly, trudging easily through the surrounding nature. Every now and then I did a summersault over something in my way, just to make things more interesting.

I guess I shouldn't have been surprised by where I ended up. I stood at the tree line and frowned. Of all the places, I had to end up at Jake's place. I'd walked the path so many times that my legs obviously knew the route by themselves. They just carried me there. I leaned against the tree next to me and glanced at the house a few times. I wasn't going in, that was a final thought, but looking at it made me frown some more. I missed this place. I missed the happy that surrounded it. I missed that aura or whatever that Jacob gave off. Like James's, and Embry joking along with me.

It's amazing how we take those things to granted and don't realise how important they are till it's too late. It's the one thing that always happens and yet, it's still the same outcome.

I sighed and pushed myself away from the tree about to leave when I heard the door open. I looked back to see Jacob walking out. I guess I shouldn't have been surprised that he'd cut all his hair off too and was only wearing shorts.

I was surprised however when James walked out behind him. They looked like they were arguing. I spent about a second debating whether I should confront them both about it, whether I should shout at both of them instead of just James.

What the heck, it couldn't hurt to try and get information out of them. I'd only regret it later if I didn't… might regret it if I do too but I might also get an answer.

I slowly trudged towards them. I shouldn't have been surprised that as I did it began to rain. Stupid weather, making me feel worse.

"You didn't see her! You haven't seen how she's acting!" James shouted at Jacob

"There's nothing we can do about that! It's not our fault!" Jacob said

"That's not point! It's driving her insane!" James thought "Why can't you just ask your dad?"

"Why don't you?"

"I'm going to! But it'd be easier if there was more then one council member who agreed!" James explained

"I can't have that!"

"And why not?!" James spat "You don't want you friend back?"

"Oh course I do! I hate this! I hate that rule! I'm being ordered around! But there's nothing I can do about it!" Jacob was both complaining and raging.

It didn't take me more then a minute to realise they were arguing about keeping a secret. I also wondered who they were talking about, but seeing as it was Jacob and James, it couldn't be Bella, and the only other 'she' was me. And I was acting badly, it was driving me insane, what ever it was.

It took me about five minutes to reach them and their shouting obviously drowned out the sound of my footsteps, that and the rain for they never turned to me, even when I got close.

"If you want her back, why not just ask?" I said, a lot softer then my voice had been lately. They both turned to look at me, my jacket half damp and my hair slowly being soaked through.

Jacob glared at James before he turned and was about to leave.

"Hold up," I said before he could, the anger back in my voice again. He actually stopped

"What?" he asked

"Do I really need to answer that question Jacob?" I asked, the seriousness in my face. James looked at Jake expectingly. I guess he was expecting Jake to finally see what he's been going through with me. Well if I didn't get answers then they were both about to see how angry I really was.

Jacob just stared at me.

"What's wrong?" I ground my teeth "Cat got your tongue?" Jacob looked at me annoyed "It's not a difficult question to answer Jake," I admitted

"You don't know that." he said harshly

"Because you wont tell me," I said "Either of you. Any of you." I snapped at them both this time. There was silence and I clenched my fists and ground my teeth before Jacob looked at James and they both turned to walk away, ignoring me again!

"That's it! I'm fucking over this!" I hollered over the rain, it was like all of my anger suddenly hit it's peak as my voice echoed through the trees. The boys stopped and turned to look at me

"I'm sick of being lied to! I'm sick of being ignored! I want my friends back! First Embry stops talking to me, then my best friend, but now even my own brother is ignoring me!" I continued "I'm pretty sure you've known me longer then Sam! Why is he suddenly so important that you can't talk to me?! It's bad enough that you're all running around in the forest while people are being killed. Let alone in nothing but cut offs in this stupid weather. Plus you're always running fevers and James is always sneaking out of the house! My parents don't seem to care or worry and even Billy wont let me visit anymore! Mono my fucking ass!" I shrieked. I think James was surprised by my language, in fact I think they both were, I wasn't one to swear often.

"I'm sick of being the only one that's being kept in the bloody dark!" I confessed, I wondered if my face was purple from all the anger inside of me "You even stopped talking to Bella and crushed her, after she got better!" I accused Jacob "And you stopped talking to your friends. Including Quil!" I burst. Their faces stayed almost plain during my entire outburst.

"I don't care what the bloody council says. I don't care what bloody Sam says. I want to know what happened!" I demanded, the threatening sound in my voice again "I want to know why I'm loosing all the people I care about!"

Right there and then I felt like something snapped inside of me, releasing something that had been kept away all this time, something that had been trying to break free. My breath hitched in my throat as what ever it was occupied every part of my body, filling me to the brim, replacing the anger. I felt my legs give way from beneath me and the last thing I saw were Jacob and James's worried faces as they suddenly ran towards me. Then everything went dark.


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter 11:

I thought when people fell unconscious they were out cold, they didn't dream, or have nightmares, it was like time didn't pass for them. If that was so, then why was I dreaming? Several events passed through my head, the day Bella went missing and Sam brought her back. The Cullens before they left. The reports of the bear. The girl who attacked me. The wolves saving me in a way. Laurent and Bella's conversation. The wolves again. Jacob's behaviour. The fever. James's behaviour. His fever. The lying. Being able to tell when someone was lying. Being able to see through people's masks when they concealed their expressions. The red eyes.

Thirst? Mouthwatering?

_"What your dad believes?"_

_"The Quileute Legends"_

_"We were spirit warriors."_

_"Another legend claims that we descended from wolves — and that the wolves are our brothers still. It's against tribal law to kill them. Then there are the stories about the cold ones."_

Wolves.

_"You see, the cold ones are the natural enemies of the wolf — well, not the wolf, really, but the wolves that turn into men, like our ancestors. You would call them werewolves."_

Turn into Wolves.

_"They didn't hunt the way others of their kind did — they weren't supposed to be dangerous to the tribe."_

_"They claimed that they didn't hunt humans. They supposedly were somehow able to prey on animals instead."_

_"So how does it fit in with the Cullens? Are they like the cold ones?" "No. They are the same ones."_

_"And what are they? What are the cold ones?" _

_"Blood drinkers. Vampires."_

Red eyes.

I could hear what was going on around me.

"She's been out a while…"

"Are you sure nothing happened?"

"No, she was just shouting and then she suddenly collapsed."

"She's on freaky chick, I could hear her shouts from miles off."

"How did she get so suspicious? Did you tell her anything?"

There were so many voices, so many questions. So I blocked them out for a minute. I was lying somewhere soft, there was a weight on top of me, a blanket?

I could easily hear the rain outside, the sound of it hitting the tin roof.

In the distance I could hear cars, but I couldn't tell where they were.

The place I was in had a musky smell to it, I could smell the distant scent of pizza. But the strongest smell was that that smelled a little like dogs. It wasn't bad, it almost blended in with the musky smell. The smell of dirt and nature filled the room too.

"Should we call your dad Jake?" Jake? As in Jacob?

"No, he's out fishing with Harry," Harry Clearwater?

"What about your dad, James?" James? My brother James?

"He's at work. We could probably get in contact with him, especially if you call from Billy's phone," James answered.

"Should we call?" that voice was familiar… where did I know it from…?

"No. We'll wait for her to awake first." that voice was the deepest. The oldest. I knew it. It was Sam's voice. Sam Uley.

"What if Jacob's dad comes home first?" said an unfamiliar voice.

"We'll explain what happened," Sam ordered. I felt as someone touched my forehead.

"She's warming up…" James noticed

"How warming up?" said the familiar voice. I recognised it then, it was Embry.

"Warm,"

"Fever warm?"

"Don't be stupid, girls can't get it." said another unfamiliar voice, though it sounded annoyed.

"How do you know Paul?" James said, it sounded like he was snapping at him

"Cause it hasn't happened," Paul argued

"So?" James asked

"Ease up." Sam ordered. There was something about the sound of his voice, like it held authority.

"Sam, what are we going to do when she wakes up?" Jacob questioned

"Act normal," Sam ordered

"That's going to be difficult, she's surrounded by six shirtless guys." Embry chuckled. Embry, it was good to hear his laugh. It took a lot to keep the smile off of my face. A few others snickered with him. Obviously they thought that gave them some sort of power.

Six shirtless guys… Jacob, James, Sam, Embry, Paul… the last must be Jared. Great I was surrounded by…

_"You would call them werewolves."_ oh god… don't tell me the legends are actually real. I remembered the wolves, there was five last Saturday, before James got sick. And when I saw them the first time, there was three, and that was when Embry got the fever. Between then and last Saturday Embry and Jacob had joined Sam and two more wolves had appeared…

I could't help but groan and I heard several people move.

"Lexi!" I knew immediately that was James

"Yeah?" I asked with a sigh as I went to cover my eyes with my hands before opening them.

"Are you alright?"

"Define alright?" I asked, I heard a chuckle

"She's fine." Embry admitted. I opened my eyes under my hands and my eyes focused on all the lines in them. I blinked before removing my hands, I was in Jacob's house, on his couch in the living room. I turned to look at the boys. James was crouched next to me on the floor, Jacob was standing at my head, Embry next to him. Sam at my feet and Jared and Paul opposite the couch.

"What time is it?" I questioned looking back at the celling

"You were out for about three hours," James answered. I looked at him surprised

"Really?" I asked. He nodded. Three hours and one dream was all I needed for the answers I'd been looking for? Why the hell didn't someone knock me out earlier?

"Lex, do you know why you collapsed?" I looked up at Embry. I thought about it before shaking my head

"It was weird though…" I muttered

"How?" I looked at Sam, I expected myself to glare at him for taking my friends, but I didn't.

"I'm not sure, I just felt weird."

"That's helpful." Jared accused

"Well get over it." I said casually. I rubbed my eyes before sitting up. James had his hand on my back as though I was going to fall over

"I'm fine." I assured him

"You collapsed," he reminded me

"Yeah, and I've had three hours to recover." I reminded him. James rolled his eyes before removing his hand.

"I see you're back to normal." he smirked

"I see you're talking to me again," I smirked back "Knew you couldn't keep quiet forever." he shrugged

"Couldn't put up with you snapping at me anymore." he shrugged, it was a lie. I raised my eyebrow and gave him a look. He sighed "Sorry." I patted his shoulder

"At least you apologised," I said before standing up. I was surprised. I felt weird. I walked from the living room to the kitchen. I didn't know what it was, but the way I walked was sort of graceful, agile, swift. It was strange.

"You shouldn't be getting up," James mumbled

"I need to get a glass of water somehow." I muttered to myself. I reminded myself that they were, if I was right, werewolves and could hear me. I then remembered something else.

Vampires.

The red head, Laurent and, the Cullens. They were all vampires. And by the conversation she'd had with Laurent, Bella knew about it.

But she didn't know what was going on with Jake and James, so maybe she didn't know about the wolves.

"So Lexi…" it was Jacob's voice

"Mmm?" I said as I had the glass to my lips. I turned to see them file after me into the kitchen

"Are you alright?" he wondered, I removed the glass and turned to put it in the sink

"Didn't you ask me that already?"

"Not from collapsing," Jacob clarified. He was talking about from my outburst.

"Sort of,"

"So you're not going to yell at us again?" James sounded surprised. I turned to smirk at him

"No." I promised. Embry, James and Jacob looked at me surprised. "Don't look at me like that. I don't hold a grudge." I said walking past them

"Sure you don't," Embry muttered sarcastically

"Your grudges don't go away until you get what you want…" James said slowly

"Well considering no ones been talking to me, how could that have happened?" I wondered turning back to them and crossing my arms over my chest. This was going to be interesting. No way was I just going to just come out and say 'I know you're all giant wolves'. I was actually positive now, thanks to James's hot skin and the fact that all six of them were huge. No one else was this tall and those wolves were massive. Plus there was the fact that all of them smelled a little bit like dogs… wait… how could I smell that? I pushed that thought aside, this wasn't about me, it was about them.

No one answered me so I rolled my eyes and sat back down on the couch.

"Does mum and dad know what happened?"

"No." James answered slowly. He, Embry and Jacob were confused by my actions. The others didn't know me well enough. I looked up at him.

"What?" I asked, questioning his tone

"What's going on?" Embry asked immediately

"Let's see, I just passed out," I reminded him "And I've been out for three hours…" I trailed off and looked at them all "Have you all been watching me sleep for three hours?" I questioned. No one answered "That's weird." I confessed

"Well someone had to be here when you woke up." Jared shrugged

"You didn't have to be, but thanks." I smiled

"Did you just smile?" James asked, I looked at him confused "You haven't smiled in around two weeks!"

"Not two weeks," I disagreed "A week and a half." I corrected. Embry smirked at me before coming and sitting next to me

"Well, I'm glad you're back to normal."

"And I'm glad to see you again." I said. He smiled at me and held out his hand. I gave him a high five, ignoring that his hand was really warm.

"Thanks by the way." he said. I shrugged

"Wasn't a problem." I smiled "So, do I get an explanation as to why you're all here watching me?" I asked. I saw everyone glance at Sam for about a second but it was long enough for me to catch it.

"James and Jake cancelled their plans cause you collapsed, so we all came to see if you were alright." Sam explained. My smile disappeared and my face turned hard. He was lying. James saw my look and I saw the worried look on his face as he knew I knew Sam was lying to me. I guess he was worried I was going to have another outburst.

Sam and I just stared at each other, holding each others stares without either of us speaking. Everyone just watched us

"You were that concerned for me?" I eventually spoke. Sam didn't answer, but then again it was meant to be a rhetorical question.

"How did you get here, Lex?" James suddenly asked, causing me to tear my gaze away from Sam.

"I walked." I said simply

"On your own?" Embry asked. I nodded. I saw Jared and Paul roll their eyes, right they've saved me from a vampire twice now haven't they.

"Didn't dad tell you not to do that?" James wondered. I looked at him confused

"No." I said truthfully. James sighed and muttered under his breath

"He was supposed to."

"Guess he forgot," I shrugged. I saw James look at me with surprise, like I wasn't meant to hear that. "Besides, it's not like I went far."

"Not the point," Embry shrugged

"You want me to cower and hide in my room?" I asked him with a smirk

"You'd never do that." Embry remembered

"Exactly." I smiled, glad that he still knew me.

"That doesn't mean you should walk through the woods though," Embry added, I couldn't help but laugh

"Cause of the so called bear?" I asked, Paul smirked

"You don't think it's a bear?"

"No." I said as if the answer was obvious

"Then what do you think it is?"

"Well Bella thinks it's wolves," I smirked mischievously

"Wolves?" Jared asked, though his voice sounded like he was trying to hide the annoyance that Bella was accusing them. My smile widened

"Yeah, she told Charlie, so the police are no longer searching for a bear." I confessed. The annoyance sinked into all of their faces.

"What do you think?" James asked me. I looked at him and shrugged

"It's difficult to blame wolves when they've 'saved' me twice." I said, emphasising the word saved. Jacob noticed

"Why'd you say it like that?" he wondered. They sort of lost the charade there, you'd expect someone to be interested in the fact that wolves saved me from something unknown then at how I said the word.

"Well it's difficult to feel that you've been saved when you've never really felt that you were in danger," I confessed. Paul snorted but he tried to hide it.

"What's wrong Paul?" I wondered, trying to make myself look curious. I think I failed.

"Nothing, just sneezed." he shrugged

"You're a terrible liar." I confessed

"You accusing me?" he questioned. I thought

"Yeah, I'm pretty sure I was." I said slowly so that he could understand that I meant it. It wasn't difficult to notice when Paul's hands started shaking. I watched as everyone seemed to change their stances. James put and arm around my shoulders and Embry stood up slowly while Jacob and Jared planted themselves between me and Paul. Sam looked at Paul annoyed

"Paul." he said, the authority sounding in his voice again. Paul looked at him before he took a few deep breaths.

"Jeez, no need to overreact." I grumbled. I think Paul lost it then, his teeth pulled back and a snarl slipped out through his teeth.

"Paul!" Sam said, but it was too late, Paul was shaking too hard. Jacob and Jared suddenly grabbed him and forced him towards the door before they dragged him outside. I wanted to get up and follow but James's arm prevented me from doing so. Sam followed the three outside and I slumped back into the couch, realising James wasn't going to let me go anywhere.

I knew one thing though now. Anger was the key. Whenever they got really angry it seemed they changed. If they didn't Jacob and Jared wouldn't have dragged him out like that, they wouldn't have gotten all protective if that wasn't true.

So if I didn't want to admit it and they weren't going to tell me then all I really had to do was anger one of them… without standing to close.

"Lex," James said. I looked at him and he was looking at me disappointedly

"What?" I asked confused

"Why'd you do that?" Embry wondered, I could hear the suspicion in his voice

"Do what? It's not my fault he got angry." I confessed, I couldn't believe they were blaming me, if Paul could keep a lid on it then it wouldn't have happened. I saw James and Embry share a look out of the corner of my eye.

"You know you shouldn't anger Paul." Embry advised before sitting back down next to me

"Why?" I questioned

"Just don't, it's not pretty." James sighed. I gave him a look, but the look faded when I heard the sound of growling and snarling outside over the now light rain. It was a ways off, probably just inside the tree line.

Well that was easy. Paul was the one to anger… or not to anger later on down the track.

"So can I go home now?" I wondered

"Why?" James asked confused

"Considering I'm still wet and a little muddy… what did you guys do? Lay me in the mud?" I asked, James didn't answered but turned away "Plus it's annoying me how you're all asking me questions."

"Can you blame us for worrying? You did pass out," Embry reminded me

"Then you can't blame me for being angry at you all for lying to me." I said lightly. Embry scowled at me

"What? It's true." I muttered. The growling and snarling was still going on. I wondered if they thought I wouldn't be able to hear from so far away or something. I doubted they'd be careless and let me hear them… then there was another question, how could I hear them?

James suddenly put a hand on my forehead, I swear his hand had been really warm before, now it felt normal.

"Lex, do you have a fever?" he asked, I felt my forehead, it felt fine

"No?" I asked confused, Embry felt my temperature next

"Yes you do," he said, but his hand wasn't warm either, it was like when you touch someone with the same body temperature as you, you can't tell.

"No I don't." I said. Embry got up and disappeared into the kitchen for a second before coming back and holding a thermometer to me. I scowled but opened my mouth for him to put it under my tongue. We waited a second before Embry took it. He whistled and showed me. It was at about 110°. I took it and even James looked at it surprised

"But —" James began, I took the opportunity and put the thermometer in his open mouth. He scowled at me as I took it out, his temperature was at 108°. Embry took the thermometer and left the room again. This was weird…

"I don't feel hot…" I muttered. I wasn't surprised James was warm, I guess wolves had to survive in the snow so they had warm temperatures, and the fur. So maybe the warm temperature made up for the lack of fur while they were human…

But then why was I like this? James was looking at me confused too but I just shrugged. I took the opportunity of his surprise to stand up and leave his constricting grasp. I walked around and felt my joints, none of it felt sore so I didn't have what the boys had had. Plus they'd been bed ridden, I apparently was just hot. I couldn't help but smirk.

Embry walked back out and obviously didn't notice me as he gave James a look. James' eyes flicked to me and Embry jumped when he saw me.

"Shit." he muttered, I looked at him confused "How did you get there?" he asked

"I walked…" I said obviously, Embry looked surprised "I didn't hear you." he said. Both James and I looked at him surprised. Wasn't he supposed to have good hearing, thanks to the whole wolf thing? I decided to change the subject off of me.

"So where'd the boys go?" I wondered, they shrugged

"Probably to clam Paul down." James said, trying to get over the confusion.

"Should I apologise?" I asked, not really meaning it. They both shook their heads. I scowled at them before I turned to walk towards the door. I was stopped when Embry caught my wrist. I looked at him

"What?" I questioned

"They'll be back. We don't need you catching a cold." Embry said seriously

"I'm already wet," I reminded him. Embry's eyes narrowed as he thought of something else to say. "You know you're both very bad at this." I commented

"At what?"

"Distracting me," I said obviously "And the fact that you don't want me to go outside just makes me want to go and see what's going on even more." they looked at me surprised before James sighed.

"How the hell do you do that?" he questioned

"What?"

"It's almost like you can read peoples thoughts," he admitted

"If I could do that I would have figured out what was going on ages ago." I reminded him. He gave me that one.

"Em, you can let go now." I assured him

"Sure?" he asked. I shrugged

"Can't you trust me?"

"No." he decided. I sent him a glare

"Well that's nice."

"I know you Lex, the second I let go you're going to go outside."

"It's just outside, what's so bad about it?" I questioned

"Just that we don't need Paul breaking you," James shrugged. Embry gave him a look as though he couldn't believe he'd said that. "He's a lot bigger then you remember?" James smirked. Embry caught on then and nodded to me. I rolled my eyes

"You two are just worry warts." I smirked. I did a one handed summersault and twisted my wrist out of Embry's hand. He looked at me surprised as I shook my wrist. He'd been holding on pretty tightly.

"I hate it when you do that," Embry muttered, remembering that I did gymnastics. I smirked

"No you don't."

"I do now."

"Aww," I pouted at him and he rolled his eyes. Suddenly a bark sounded through the air and there was no way anyone would miss it. Both boys glared before remembering I was in the room, they looked at me but I was only eyeing the door. I really wanted to go out. Just get this all out of the way.

I saw Embry lean towards the door and I took the opportunity to dash to the door and open it. I wasn't actually expecting to make it but I was suddenly outside and away from the front door while Embry stood in the doorway. He looked freaked, worrying. I was just confused, wouldn't being a werewolf and being able to keep up with vampires give you some sort of speed?

I heard snapping and turned to see two wolves having a go at one another. The russet brown one and the silver grey. The black one was standing there to growling at them while Jared was standing there simply watching.

It wasn't difficult for me to figure out who was who now. Sam, Jared and Paul had been the first three, so Sam and Paul were the black and silver grey wolves. It was obvious Sam was the black one for he was the alpha. That meant Jacob was the russet colour. I tried to put the other two together. That wasn't difficult. Jared had been there first so he was the brown one and Embry came later so he was the grey with black spots. I hadn't seen James as a wolf yet so I didn't know what he looked like.

I could hear James cursing from behind me as I looked at the wolves. I wondered how my expression was, if felt normal. Plain. Then again this wasn't the first time I'd seen the wolves so…

I jogged up to Jared who was standing a little ways back from the three wolves.

"What's going on?" I asked causally when I was next to him. Jared jumped when I spoke and it was like the entire world suddenly stopped. Paul and Jacob stopped growling at one another and all three wolves looked at me.

I noticed Sam's big eyes flicker to Embry and James and I turned to look at them, they were looking at me surprised. Everyone was.

"What?" I asked. I was trying to keep the grin off of my face.

James was the first one to realise what happened.

"Alexis!" he growled at me, I turned to him

"What?" I asked, this time actually confused. James walked up to me

"Why didn't you tell us?"

"Tell you…"

"That you figured it out?" James said. I think everyone understood then

"That's why she wasn't holding a grudge." Embry mumbled

"You didn't ask." I shrugged. James rolled his eyes and looked annoyed. I smirked and turned to look at the three wolves "Plus why should I tell you when you wouldn't tell me?" I questioned. Jacob's posture lightened up and Paul just huffed. If Sam was human I bet he'd be looking at me seriously.

Jared was the only one who managed to smile as he put his arm around my shoulders.

"So, how'd you do it?" he questioned

"Turns out people actually dream when they're unconscious," I admitted

"A dream told you?" James asked surprised

"More like memories then dreams."

"Memories?" Embry asked as he stood next to James

"I grew up with the stories too," I reminded them. "And when you've been attacked by a vampire twice it sort of puts things into perspective." I admitted

"Twice?!" James asked shocked. He turned and growled at the wolves

"Yeah," I answered after Jacob growled back. "Sam, Paul and Jared turned up the first time when Embry had the fever and then everyone but you turned up the second time, the day you got the fever." I explained "And freaked the hell out of Bella." I added. Jared smirked

"We are pretty intimidating."

"What cause you're big?" I asked

"Now that I remember correctly, you weren't scared," Embry admitted. I nodded

"How?" James asked "Didn't you just say you were attacked by a bloodsucker?" I smirked at the nickname.

"She was actually protecting Bella." Jared nodded. James was just stunned and looked at me for answers. I shrugged

"I don't know," I admitted "I just wasn't frightened." I admitted

"By us?" James thought

"By any of it." I corrected "Including when the red head had my pinned to a tree and her hand around my throat."

"How could you not be scared?" Embry wondered

"Yeah, what's wrong with you?" Jared questioned

"Dude I've been asking myself the same question since." I sighed.

"Well, keep asking cause it seems you've gotten weirder." James sighed.

"Don't remind me." I muttered

"What do you mean?" Jared questioned

"Her temperature's at 110°" Embry admitted

"And she beat Embry in a race to the door." James added

"And I heard you all growling and snarling when you left the house." I added, everyone looked at me "You're not very quiet you know." I added

"Say, do mum and dad know about the vampire incidents?" James wondered, I scoffed

"I haven't been talking to them remember. The only people who know are you lot." I said nodding my head to the wolves. They were just standing there watching us.

"Wait, so you were attacked by a leech, yet you still went out hiking with Bella and even after you were threatened a second time you walked from your house to here?" Embry clarified

"Yep." I nodded "I also went walking a lot after the first time." I confessed

"Why?"

"Well after the first time I did debate on going with Bella cause I knew I'd probably just get into trouble. But the way Bella asked me I couldn't say no. I guess it didn't help that I went with _Bella_ cause we all know she attracts trouble. But, I guess it just didn't worry me." I shrugged "Sort of ironic that it happened a second time anyway." I muttered

"And yet you came here on foot?" James asked

"I wasn't meaning to come here," I confessed "This is just where I ended up."

"Where were you planning on going?" Embry wondered

"I don't know, anywhere."

"After what happened?" James asked. I thought about it and shrugged

"Do you feel fear?" Jared asked

"I don't know, not yet," I confessed "Oh that's not true, I was scared I was loosing all my friends but that's about it." I confessed. Jared glanced at Paul and his lips pulled back to expose his teeth before he let out a deafening growl. Sam snapped at him for doing so before everyone turned to me. I hadn't flinched.

"Jeez girl," Jared smirked

"What? Can't be scared when I know he's not actually gonna hurt me." I confessed

"You'd be surprised." Embry sighed

"Probably." I confessed with a nod. "Right then…" I thought "Who's hungry?" I wondered realising I'd missed lunch. Everyone laughed

"When aren't we hungry?" Embry admitted

"That would explain the appetite." I realised. I turned around and walked gracefully back towards the house.

"Hey Lex," James said, I turned to him

"Yeah?"

"Are you sure nothing happened to you?"

"As in?" he shrugged "Yes. Why?"

"You just seem…"

"More perfect…" Embry muttered

"Is that compliment?" I wondered

"You're walking like that red headed bloodsucker." Jared sneered

"I'm walking like a vampire, who are perfect…" I said. They nodded and I looked at them weirdly before turning around and continued to the house, walking through the front door.

I remembered before I'd fainted, when I'd felt the snap, and being filled to the brim, that feeling was still there, like something was filing me up, taking over or something. But what was it?

I walked into Billy's kitchen and looked through all the cupboards. They were empty.

"Don't you people know what a supermarket is?" I grumbled

"Course. I think that was one of dad's errands today." Jacob's voice sounded. I sighed

"Well then, we need to go for a walk don't we." I said

"Why?" James wondered

"Cause while Jacob's kitchen is empty, ours is full." I smiled

"You're going for a walk again?" Embry wondered as I walked towards the door, I looked at them surprised.

"Aren't you coming with me?" I wondered

"No." Sam said, I stopped walking before I had the chance to crash into him. I looked at him annoyed

"Why not?" I complained

"We have things to do. Paul's going on patrol, Jared, I need you to join him till I get back." Sam ordered, the authority in his voice again. "I need to meet with the council. Tell them what happened."

"Considering my dad's on the council you could just come." I shrugged

"It's more complicated then that Lex," Jacob admitted

"Of course it is." I muttered

"Well, see you when ever then." I waved and went to walk around Sam but someone came up behind me, I stepped to the side just as Jacob's arms grabbed the air where my waist had just been. He looked at me a little surprised. I think all I noticed were the muscles in his arms and how I'd avoided them.

"What?" I asked remembering he'd tried to grab me.

"You're not going out here alone." he said

"I've done it before,"

"And got into trouble."

"I'm fine."

"Cause of us." They argued.

"Stop worrying." I rolled my eyes

"I'll go, it's my house after all." James sighed

"Excuse me," I said to him "If it's anyones house, it's mine." I corrected before sliding by Jacob and out the open door behind him. I had gotten half way down the backyard in the direction of my house before I was joined by two people. I wasn't as all surprised by who it was. James put his arm over my shoulder and I held his hand before he grinned at me. I was glad James was back to normal, well around me, but Jake… I looked at him. His face was a lot softer and more natural now, but he hadn't smiled at me yet.

"Hey James," I began remembering something

"Mm?" he asked looking down at me

"What colour are you?" I wondered. He smirked

"Like a fox." Jacob answered, I looked at him

"So a copper rusty colour?" I asked

"More or less." James shrugged "I'm more orange compared to Jake who's more red." I nodded, I could picture a fox, so I tried picturing a huge wolf like that… it wasn't working.

"So tell me," I started again "How does it work?" I wondered

"What?"

"Being a werewolf." I clarified "I get that it's the fever but…"

"Oh," James understood "Well, when there's a vampire nearby it triggers like a…"

"Gene," I remembered

"Yeah?" he looked a little surprised

"Dad, Billy and Harry said it when Embry had his fever." I reminded him

"Right," James nodded "Well its the gene that allows us to phase." James continued "We protect the tribe from the blood suckers."

"Which would explain why you went after Laurent." I said to Jacob. He nodded

"Did you get him?" I wondered, Jacob looked at me and scoffed

"Of course." he said as if it was an insult to ask. I looked at James with a confused expression. James sighed and shook his head

"What else?" I wondered, distracting them.

"Well, when in our wolf forms we can hear each others thoughts." James smirked

"Isn't that annoying?" I wondered

"Sometimes." James sighed "There are no secrets between us though."

"So how come you didn't know I'd come up against a vampire twice?" I wondered

"Not enough time together yet." he shrugged

"A week isn't enough time?" I wondered with a smirk

"We do other things Lex," Jacob said.

"Tell me more." I smiled

"Um. We're extremely fast…"

"I know." I cut him off with a smile

"Strong,"

"How strong?"

"Dunno, how do you measure strength?" James wondered

"Good question," I muttered. At that point the house came into sight and I skipped inside.

"So what do we feel like?" I asked opening the fridge.

"Anything." James sighed as he sat at the kitchen bench. Jacob sat at the dining table. I couldn't help but keep glancing at him. The way he was acting bugged me, and more then last time.

I began cooking, and I cooked a lot. I guess they ate a lot. I mean they had to keep a huge body fed and they got so much exercise, they must run low on energy quickly, chasing after those vampires.

I was done in about forty minutes and I handed both Jacob and James a huge bowl of pasta.

I then remembered something

"Hey…" James looked up at me, his mouth full. "Do I smell weird to you?" I wondered. James looked confused as he swallowed his mouthful "That red headed vamp, she said I smelled differently, I don't know what it was but she seemed really confused. And then Laurent, gave me this look like something about me confused him too, I sort of assumed it was because of the same thing?"

"They said you smelled weird?" Jacob spoke, I nodded and thought remembering

"She said 'Why do you smell like that?' of course I had no idea what she was talking about so I asked her 'What?' and she said 'Your scent… it's different'." I explained "Then she went on and spoke about how she liked me… I really had no idea what she was going on about," I muttered turning to the sink to wash up the dishes

"What?" both boys asked suddenly. I turned to them?

"What?"

"What else did she say?" Jacob stood up

"She said she liked me?" I said

"What else?" James asked seriously

"Um… I asked her why she was threatening to kill me if that was the case and she said something about leverage. She wouldn't tell me what the leverage was for though. Of course, being the stubborn person I am I demanded to know what she was going on about and she laughed at me before saying I was a fighter." I shrugged "Then Sam, Paul and Jared stepped in." I sighed, James looked at Jacob

"I'm guessing that's important," I muttered

"Would have been nice to know." Jacob admitted. I dropped the dished I was holding in the sink

"Well sorry but it would have been nice to know that all my friends were the ones saving my ass too!" I snapped at him. Both boys looked at me completely shocked. It took me a few minutes to realise it wasn't that I snapped at them that they were surprised.

"What?" I questioned with a sigh

"You…" Jacob began

"Your eyes…" James said, I picked up a spoon and looked at my reflection, it looked normal. I looked back at them confused

"What about them?" I questioned

"They were gold!" James admitted. My mouth fell open a little as I stared at them

"Gold?" I questioned, both of them nodded. I looked in the spoon again "Are you sure your eyes aren't playing tricks on you?" I questioned. They looked at each other and shook their heads.

"It was for a split second when you got angry." James admitted.

I needed to sit down for a minute. I walked around the bench and made my way to the couch before sitting down.

"Lexi, are you alright?" James asked slowly.

"You know when you asked if I knew why I collapsed?" I asked, they nodded "And I said I didn't," they nodded again "I think I might have been lying…"

"What do you mean?" Jacob asked. I thought, trying to figure out how to explain it

"Just before I collapsed after I'd finished shouting I felt like… like something snapped in me, like something got loose. It extinguished the anger I felt and filled every inch of me, I don't know. At first I thought it was nothing but I could still feel it when I woke up, and now…" I sighed and put my head in my hands.

"Why didn't you say that before?" James asked confused

"I didn't think it was important." I confessed. There was silence for a minute "Gold…" I muttered.

"What's happened since you woke up Lex?" Jacob asked

"Um, my temperatures high, my hearings good…"

"You managed to beat Embry to the door before," James remembered, I looked at him but he continued "You don't seem to be scared of anything most normal people would be scared off," I sighed

"That might not have anything to do with it." I thought. First I found out my best friends and my brother are werewolves, that vampires exist too, and now I discover there's something wrong with me. You'd think my life hit it's peak of weird. But I guess not.


	13. Chapter 13

Chapter 12:

I woke up the next morning, I looked at the clock and full out groaned. It was way to early to be awake. I shut my eyes and tried to get back to sleep. Not with much luck.

A breeze brushed on my arm. I opened my eyes again to look at my window. It was open. I wasn't cold and that surprised me at first when I just saw the fog outside in the slowly lightening morning.

The surprise didn't last after I remembered that my body had decided to be retarded and make me have a constant fever. Like the wolves.

The wolves…

Jacob had left yesterday after I'd explained. He mumbled something about telling Sam and then just left.

"What is wrong with him?" I questioned James "I thought after I found out he wouldn't be as angry anymore?"

"It's not you Lex," James sighed "It's Bella." Bella how the hell could I forget that. I hit myself in the forehead for doing so.

"He's not allowed to tell her," I realised

"It's killing him and what you said yesterday, didn't help." James admitted

"Shit." I complained.

I'd also been told I wasn't allowed to tell her.

Sam had told dad what happened, and Billy, and Harry, and Old Quil. Naturally my dad had run home and given me what I like to call the 'wolf talk'. It's a secret you can't tell anyone. No body is allowed to know no matter what and blah blah blah. Naturally I'd shouted at him about how my entire family had known but me and he just replied with

"It didn't have anything to do with you" at that I had to remind my father that it was the same with my mother. He's stayed silent after that and I was still annoyed at him, but not as bad as before.

Luckily for me James and Jacob hadn't told dad about how I was feeling. James had told me later that day that because it had nothing to do with the pack, they didn't see the point in telling the council members. I asked if they could not until I figured out what was wrong with me. Like there was any hope of that happening though.

I was suddenly brought out of my thoughts by a sudden snore. I turned my head and looked to see Jacob sitting on my chair at my desk fast asleep. I looked at the window and then back at Jake. I slowly sat up

"Ahem," I coughed. Jake jumped awake and almost fell off of my chair. Luckily my desk was there to save him. He looked around and then his eyes landed on me

"Why are you in my room?" I asked sleepily as I rubbed one of my eyes.

"Uh…" he said, I looked at him surprised. Since I spoke to him yesterday, he'd never been lost for words. "Well after yesterday Sam decided to keep an eye on you, cause of what the leech said." he explained, great they thought she was going to come after me.

"And my werewolf brother next door isn't enough because…" I wondered pointing at the wall behind me

"He's out patrolling." Jacob admitted, yawning

"Dude, when was the last time you slept?" I questioned

"Properly or…"

"At all?"

"Ah…" he thought

"I don't think I wanna know." I decided, stopping him. He sighed and looked impatient

"Alright," I decided, I patted the spot next to me "Come." I ordered, he looked at me annoyed

"I'm not a dog." I had to think about that before I smirked

"Sorry, that was an unintended pun." I promised. He raised an eyebrow "I may not have spoke to you for two weeks but I am still you best friend and as of now I know you better then anyone, including the five boys who can get inside your head. Now come and sit next to me." I ordered. Jacob rolled his eyes but stood up and listened. He sat next to me before giving me a look

"Now then," I began "What did you do?" I questioned. He sighed

"I…" he began "I went and saw Bella last night," he admitted. I looked at him surprised

"I thought…"

"Sam ordered us not to tell anyone. I stayed away because I thought it was too dangerous to be near her… you too." Jacob explained "Same with Embry and James."

"Considering she was dating a vampire I think she'd be alright with it." I confessed, he gave me an annoyed look

"'Was', note the past tense" I pointed out "Anyway…"

"She came to see me yesterday, after I left here, and…" he sighed and looked hurt "I hurt her. I told her to stay away, that we couldn't be friends." he confessed

"Jake," I said, my voice full of pity

"I felt awful."

"You should, you realise you're the one who fixed her. Right? Without you she literally can't cope." I confessed

"Really?" he asked, I nodded

"So, you went and saw her last night?" I asked, he nodded "What did you say?"

"I asked her to remember." he admitted

"Remember…" I prompted

"The stories I told her." I thought

"You mean when you met her in LaPush when she first got here?" I remembered, he nodded

"I told her a summary of the Quileute legends. She knows what I am, I've told her. But the only one she remembers is…"

"The one about the cold ones." I sighed "Nice job there."

"Do you know, if I was the one who told her?" Jacob asked me. I bit my lip

"Yes, but no…" I said. He groaned as my response "You can't change the past, lets just, move on." I decided

"I tried to get her to remember but…" he sighed "Anyway, I told her to come and visit me when she found out or to call if she wanted nothing to do with me but then I was basically ordered to watch you." he sighed

"Sorry for being a burden." I muttered. He rolled his eyes at me

"Why would you think she wanted nothing to do with you?" I asked confused

"Because, I'm a monster." he growled

"Dude," I said seriously "When is this going to get into your head? She. Dated. A. Vampire!" I said slowly "She's already met 'monsters', you're not gonna be much different."

"But…"

"Shut up." I interrupted him. "If you asked her to visit you when she remembered then you might wanna go home now."

"She's not going to remember now." Jacob thought

"You don't know that child at all, do you?" I muttered shaking my head

"What?" he asked

"Jake, Bella has dreams. Her memories come back to her as dreams, if you prompt her she usually dreams about it. It's how she's been remembering Edward and the Cullens against her will, why she wakes up screaming every night." I explained "I bet you, you prompted her brain to remember the memory of the two of you on the beach and she's on her way to your house."

"How do you know?" he wondered, I thought

"I dunno. I've come to call it my sixth sense."

"Sixth sense?" he asked raising an eyebrow

"Yeah, like I know when something bad's going to happen for example."

"Like what?"

"I got a bad feeling just before Edward left," I confessed, reminding him

"And that's bad?" he wondered

"It is when it sends a good friend of yours into depression." I admitted, saying exactly what I'd said then "And it turned out I was right about that too." I confessed

"Right," he muttered.

"Now, get out of my room and go home, quickly." I ordered

"But…"

"Jake!" I growled at him. I think I surprised us both when it actually came out as a growl.

"Lexi, you're weirder then me." Jacob admitted. I growled again. He smirked before jumping out my window.

He was right. I covered my mouth, surprised. I wasn't an animal so I shouldn't be able to growl like that… right?

I shook my head and banished the thoughts before I got up and got dressed. Thank god it was Sunday. I don't think I'd be able to cope at school after yesterday.

I went down stairs and cooked the biggest breakfast I could manage, taking up the rest of the morning until it was a reasonable hour again.

At some point, when there was light outside, James came in through the back door, a serious look on his face. He stopped when he saw me.

"What are you doing up?" he questioned, I shrugged

"Woke up early." I confessed, I saw the serious look in his eyes "What's going on?" I wondered

"Jake just told us he figured out the red head's plan." James informed me, I thought

"Red head…" Victoria? "Oh you mean how she's after Bella?" I said. James looked at me shocked

"You knew!?" he was angry now

"Well yeah…" I nodded

"And you didn't tell us yesterday because…?" James snapped. I glared at him

"I only figured out about all this stuff yesterday James." I reminded him annoyed "Unlike some people I haven't been given two weeks to go through my head and put information in the blank spots! Like for example that the women who attacked me is a vampire who wants Bella dead!" I shouted "Sorry for not mentioning it!"

"It's probably the most important piece of information you could give us!" James shouted back

"What's going on?" we turned to see dad standing in the hall way in his dressing gown

"Nothing!" James and I both yelled. He raised his eyebrow at us and I walked around the kitchen bench towards James. He stared at me angrily and I wondered if he'd noticed his hands had started shaking. I turned his body around and pushed him out the still open back door, closing it behind us.

"You do realise she's the one killing these hikers?"

"No, you only just told me." I said

"We could have stopped her by now!"

"I only would have told you bloody yesterday! That's not enough frickin time to figure out what to do. Did she even come around last night?" I demanded, my voice was echoing through the trees and I wouldn't be surprised if you could hear me from Jake's place. James was silent

"Exactly so don't you dare go bloody blaming me for not being able to put two and two together!" I snapped angrily at him. This was weird, I wasn't as bad as the wolves but my anger had started flaring up a lot since yesterday, well since two weeks ago actually. James looked at me surprised and his shaking stopped as he looked at me. I didn't need him to tell me what it was he was staring at this time. I turned away from him and shut my eyes, taking a deep breath as I hoped they'd go back to normal, hoping the gold colour they'd spoken about disappeared.

"What's happening?" I asked, if they'd gotten this new information what were they doing about it?

"We're having a meeting. I'm meeting the others were you, Bella and Jake rode those bikes." I looked at him to see him smirking at me

"Don't look at me like that, I didn't ride them." I said in defence.

"Alright." he muttered, the smirk still there. I growled at him and he was surprised it sounded like an actual growl

"Go and change." I pointed to the trees. He rolled his eyes but listened "And don't you dare run off on me!" I said seriously. He looked confused for a second

"You're not coming." he said

"The hell I'm not!" I shouted again, he flinched back again "I'm not going to be the person who sits back and waits for a messenger to tell me what's going on!" I decided seriously

"You wont be able to keep up." he smirked

"I don't need to." I said, he looked confused and I pointed to the trees again

"Go." I ordered. He turned and listened to me. I took a deep breath and rubbed my eyes. It seemed whenever I got angry they turned gold.

"Jeez, what's wrong with me?" I questioned. I heard a bit of scuffling before a big copper wolf came out of the trees, a pair of shorts in his mouth.

"Huh," I smirked. James wasn't as big as Sam was, not even close, but he was still huge. "Nice colour." I muttered. I noticed the shorts and it took me about a millisecond to work it out. I smirked "Dude what happened the first time you phased?" I saw him roll his big eyes at me.

I took the shorts from him— which surprisingly weren't covered in slobber — and walked away from him. I heard him turn to watch me. I stood parallel to him, facing his high back.

"Don't you dare move." I ordered seriously. His head cocked to the side before I ran at his back. When I got close I grabbed his silky smooth fur and pulled myself gracefully up onto his back. I smirked

"Well that was fun." I confessed. I tucked James' shots under my leg.

"Wow, you are tall." I muttered. I heard him huff, disapproving. "Dude," I wound my hands in his fur "You can't get me off now without hurting me so I suggest you, and everyone else, just gets over it." I advised. James huffed before he turned around and suddenly took off.

I was half expecting to fly off him from the force, but somehow I managed to keep my seat.

The speed at which James ran was unbelievable. Faster then anything I'd been on. I wonder if he could race a jet?

I shook my head. That wasn't important.

I suddenly remembered, how did Jake know the Victoria was after Bella? Only she and I knew that… and Laurent but he was dead so.

"Oh my god." I muttered, James slowed down "No no, not you." I assured him he slowed a bit more before he sped back up again.

Bella knew. She worked it out.

I smiled. So she was in on it. I was right, she did work it out over night.

James began to slow down and he slowly came to a stop. I sighed. The wind was nice on my suddenly warm face.

I sat up straight, having leaned forwards while James was running, grabbed James shorts and swung my leg over his back before falling the meter and a half — or something ridiculous like that — to the ground, landing easily on my feet.

I held out his shorts and he nodded to the ground. I dropped them on a patch of grass before walking away.

"You know I'm not a horse." James said when he walked up behind me

"You're tall enough." I smirked "Plus, you said yourself I wouldn't be able to keep up." James sighed

"Should have kept my mouth shut." he muttered as he walked away

"Yes, yes you should have." I nodded before walking with him. I suddenly stopped as I got a bad feeling, James turned to me confused

"What?" he wondered stopping

"I don't know…" I admitted "Come on." I said and I hurried through the trees. I wasn't sure how I knew where I was going, but I just did. James was walking behind me, hardly even speed walking to keep up with me thanks to his long legs.

"Why can't you just follow the rules, Jacob?" someone yelled in the distance. I immediately recognised it as Paul's raging voice. "What the hell are you thinking? Is she more important than everything — than the whole tribe? Than the people getting killed?"

"Uh oh," James muttered "He's loosing it again." I groaned annoyed before I ran through the trees. It took me less then a minute before I saw the four boys facing Jacob, Bella cowering behind him. Paul was standing between Jared, Embry and Sam and Jacob and Bella, who were standing against Bella's truck. The road was the only thing that separated them.

"She can help," Jacob said quietly.

"Help!" Paul shouted. His arms begin to quiver. "Oh, that's likely! I'm sure the leech-lover is just _dying_ to help us out!"

"Don't talk about her like that!" Jacob shouted back, stung by the Paul's criticism. A shudder rippled through Paul, along his shoulders and down his spine.

"Paul! Relax!" Sam commanded. His alpha voice breaking through.

Before I could blink I was suddenly standing in front of Paul, I didn't dwell on it and I glared up at him.

"Paul, calm down. It's to late to change anything," I reminded him. Everyone looked at me worried. I could understand why, Paul was on the edge of phasing and I was standing less then a metre away from him.

"Lex?" I heard Bella mutter behind me. James came out of the trees and stared at me shocked, I ignored him.

Paul shook his head back and forth, not in defiance, but as though he were trying to

concentrate.

"Jeez, Paul," Jared muttered. "Get a grip." I gave Jared a look of annoyance. Paul twisted his head toward Jared, his lips curling back in irritation. Then he shifted his glare in Bella's direction. James walked towards me quickly, his arm reached out ready to pull me out of the way. Jacob took a step to put himself in front of Bella.

That did it.

"Right, protect her!" Paul roared in outrage. Another shudder, a convulsion, heaved through his body.

"Paul. Calm the hell down!" I raged at him. Everyone was looking at me surprised, even Paul who's shaking calmed down for a second. I glanced at everyone, but my eyes landing on James' worried look last. One move told me why they were looking at me. He tapped his temple.

My eyes.

"You really going to loose your temper over something stupid?" Jacob muttered. Paul didn't like that and his shaking took off again. He threw his head back, a real growl tearing from between his teeth. I felt a hand on my wrist and I took a step back.

Paul fell forward, vibrating violently. Halfway to the ground, there was a loud ripping noise, and the boy exploded.

Dark silver fur blew out from Paul, coalescing into a shape more than five-times his size — a massive, crouched shape, ready to spring.

The wolf's muzzle wrinkled back over his teeth, and another growl rolled through his colossal chest. His dark, enraged eyes focused on Bella somewhere behind me.

I noticed James was suddenly at my side as though he was protecting me, it was his hand on my wrist, but I wasn't phased. I had to admit, I was standing a little to close. He'd missed me by a fraction of a foot.

"Jacob!" Bella screamed. I turned around to see Jacob running across the road straight for the monster, only now did I realise I was in the way.

Mid-stride, a long tremor shivered down Jacob's spine. He leaped forward, diving headfirst

into the empty air. With another sharp tearing sound, Jacob exploded, too. He burst out of his skin — shreds of black and white cloth blasted up into the air. It happened so quickly, one second it was Jacob diving into the air, and then it was the gigantic, russet brown wolf — so enormous that I couldn't make sense of its mass somehow fitting inside Jacob — charging the crouched silver beast.

James grabbed me around the waist and pulled me away, so that we were no longer standing between the two angry wolves. He moved so fast I hardly had time to process what happened before I was standing several meters away from Paul.

Jacob met the other werewolf's attack head-on. Their angry snarls echoed like thunder off the trees. I removed James' arms from my waist and made my way over to Bella.

The black and white scraps — the remains of Jacob's clothes — fluttered to the ground where he'd disappeared.

"Jacob!" Bella screamed again, staggering forward.

"Stay where you are, Bella," Sam ordered.

"Are you alright?" I asked, she glanced at me before looking back at the wolves. It was hard to hear anything over the roar of the fighting wolves. They were snapping and tearing at each other, their sharp teeth flashing toward each other's throats. The Jacob-wolf seemed to have the upper hand — he was visibly bigger than the other wolf, and it looked like he was stronger, too. He rammed his shoulder against the grey wolf again and again, knocking him back toward the trees.

It was both fascinating and worrying to watch. But I wasn't as worried as Bella was.

"Take her to Emily's," Sam shouted toward the other boys, who were watching the conflict

with rapt expressions. Jacob had successfully shoved the grey wolf off the road, and they

were disappearing into the forest, though the sound of their snarls was still loud.

"Alexis," Sam said to me. I looked at him confused

"What?" I questioned

"I want you to…"

"Are you serious?" I asked cutting him off "You want _me_ to calm them down?" I realised surprised.

"Paul began to calm down after you spoke," Same noticed. I was about to argue but didn't know what to say. So I just nodded.

"Sam…" James began to argue, Sam glared at him and James shut up. Sam then turned and ran after the two wolves, kicking off his shoes on the way. As he darted into the trees, he was quivering from head to toe.

I stared at him surprised, did he seriously just ask me to go into the middle of two fighting wolves?

"Come on." James muttered and he took my hand, dragging me along as the growling and snapping was fading into the distance.

"Is he crazy?" I wondered once we were surrounded by trees.

"Couldn't you tell, they were freaked by your eyes." James said

"So?" I wondered

"So when your eyes changed you were intimidating, and Paul seemed to begin to listen to you. If Jacob hadn't egged him on then he probably wouldn't have lost it." James explained

"But why does Sam then need me to calm them down? One order from him and it's over." I thought. We stopped walking and James shrugged at me. He then went and disappeared for a few seconds before he came back as the copper wolf.

This time I didn't do a run up, I just grabbed his shorts again and wrapped my hand up in his fur before jumping and hoisting myself up.

James turned and ran off towards where the snarling was coming from, it was still going. James suddenly ran faster and I guess Sam had told him to hurry up.

We reached the three huge wolves and Jacob seemed to have the upper hand, Paul had his ears flat back and most of the snarls were coming from him. Sam was standing there growling.

"OI!" I shouted, my voice somehow sounded above the snarls and growling. Everyone paused and I saw James lower his ears as my voice sounded, as though it was too loud. They all looked at me as I climbed off of James' back.

"Stop being so fricken childish!" I accused. Paul growled at me, I glared him back so hard, clenched my teeth and balled up my fists, offended that he growled at me like that. His tail dropped and his ears lied down. Growling at someone was not nice.

I took a deep breath and sighed

"Just because you can attack one another does not give you the right to." I scolded "You do realise that you freaked Bella out." Paul let out a small growl and Jacob answered, but I ignored them "What happened to being protectors? I'm sorry but scaring her and almost killing her is not protecting!" I continued. I was glad they couldn't talk, that way they couldn't argue with me.

"Now then," I said "Jacob, Paul go back to my house, it's the closest, in James room in the top draw of his cupboard you'll find some shorts and his shoes are thrown in the bottom or the wardrobe. I'm sure they'll fit." I ordered, Paul growled at me, angry about being given orders but Sam snarled at him and they both left.

I looked at Sam and he nodded before I turned back to James and climbed back onto his back.

Sam and James ran somewhere I didn't know, but I kept a close eye and tried to remember where they were going.

James wasn't as fast as Sam, but I guess Sam had the upper hand with his long, stronger legs. Eventually the scent of blueberries and muffins filled the air. It smelled amazing. Much better then my cooking anyway. It was joined by the smell of many many wild flowers, I couldn't put my finger on them all.

Sam and James came to a stop before I jumped off, dropped James' shorts and walked towards the house and around to where the front door was.

"Pig," I heard Jared comment as I opened the door, wrapping my knuckles on it as I did. Everyone turned to look at me, Bella was leaning against the bench, Jared and Embry were lounging around the kitchen and there was a girl in the kitchen mixing a bowl of what looked like eggs. She had satiny copper skin and long, straight, crow-black hair. She was absolutely gorgeous, she turned look at me, like everyone else.

It wasn't difficult to miss, the right side of her face was scarred from hairline to chin by three thick, red lines, livid in colour though they were long healed. One line pulled down the corner of her dark, almond-shaped right eye, another twisted the right side of her mouth into a permanent grimace.

"Hello?" she questioned, her voice as gorgeous as her face.

"Hey." I smiled, making sure to not stare at the scars.

"This is Alexis, James' sister" Embry informed, I waved

"Well, looks like a lot of people discovered the little secret." her eyes flickered to Bella

"Well, I found out yesterday. And considering my family's Quileute, it wasn't that difficult." I smiled. I walked over to her "You must be Emily?" I decided. She looked at me a little surprised before taking my outstretched hand

"Yes,"

"Nice to meet you." I said. The front door opened again, and Sam and James walked stepped through.

"Emily," Sam said, and so much love saturated his voice that I couldn't help but smile as he cross the room in one stride and took her face in his wide hands. He leaned down and kissed the dark scars on her right cheek before he kissed her lips.

"Hey, none of that," Jared complained. "I'm eating."

"Then shut up and eat," Sam suggested, kissing Emily's ruined mouth again.

"Ugh," Embry groaned.

"You two are such guys." I rolled my eyes at them.

"Oh, Alexis…" Emily began

"Lexi's fine," I smiled

"Would you like a muffin?" she asked. I smiled

"Sure, thanks." I took one and took a bite. They were amazing. Jacob and Paul came through the door, they were both laughing, at least the disputes didn't last long. Paul punched Jacob on the shoulder and Jacob went for a kidney jab in return. They laughed again.

Jacob scanned the room, his eyes stopping when he found Bella leaning, awkward and out of place, against the counter in the far corner of the kitchen.

"Hey, Bells," he greeted her cheerfully. He grabbed two muffins as he passed the table and went to stand next to her. "Sorry about before," he muttered under his breath. "How are you holding up.'"

"Don't worry, I'm okay. Good muffins." Bella picked hers back up and started nibbling again. I walked over to Paul as something caught my eye.

"Oh, man!" Jared wailed. Having seen it too. There was a fading pink line on Paul's forearm. Embry was grinning, exultant.

"Fifteen dollars," he crowed.

"Wow, you boys heal fast," I noticed. They grinned and shrugged. Paul glared at me, still not hoppy

"Oh don't be such a baby." I said to him before standing next to Embry.

"What did you do?" Embry wondered

"Yelled at him?" I shrugged

"Hey, guys," Sam said in a loud voice, interrupting all the conversations going on in the small room. Emily was at the stove, scraping the egg mixture around a big skillet, but Sam still had one hand touching the small of her back, an unconscious gesture. "Jacob has information for us." Paul looked unsurprised. Jacob must have explained this to him and Sam already.

"I know what the redhead wants." Jacob directed his words toward Jared and Embry. "That's what I was trying to tell you before." He kicked the leg of the chair Paul had settled into.

"And?" Jared asked. Jacob's face got serious.

"She is trying to avenge her mate — only it wasn't the black-haired leech we killed. The Cullens got her mate last year, and she's after Bella now." Jared, Embry, and Emily stared at Bella with open-mouthed surprise.

"She's just a girl," Embry protested.

"I didn't say it made sense. But that's why the bloodsucker's been trying to get past us. She's been heading for Forks." They continued to stare at Bella, mouths still hanging open, for a long moment. Bella ducked her head.

"Excellent," Jared finally said, a smile beginning to pull up the corners of his mouth. "We've

got bait." With stunning speed, Jacob yanked a can opener from the counter and launched it at Jared's head. Jared's hand flicked up faster than I would have thought possible, and he snagged the tool just before it hit his face.

"Bella is _not_ bait." Jacob snarled

"You know what I mean," Jared said, unabashed.

"So we'll be changing our patterns," Sam said, ignoring their squabble. "We'll try leaving a

few holes, and see if she falls for it. We'll have to split up, and I don't like that. But if she's

really after Bella, she probably won't try to take advantage of our divided numbers. Paul, Jared, and Embry will take the outer perimeter, and Jacob, James and I will take the inner. We'll collapse in when we've got her trapped." Bella glancing up at Jacob, worrying. The same look was in Emily's eyes. Sam caught Bella's eye.

"Jacob thinks it would be best if you spent as much time as possible here in La Push. She won't know where to find you so easily, just in case."

"What about Charlie?" Bella demanded.

"March Madness is still going," Jacob said. "I think Billy, Andrew and Harry can manage to keep Charlie down here when he's not at work."

"Wait," Sam said, holding one hand up. His glance flickered to Emily and then back to Bella. "That's what Jacob thinks is best, but you need to decide for yourself. You should weigh the risks of both options very seriously. You saw this morning how easily things can get dangerous here, how quickly they get out of hand. If you choose to stay with us, I can't make any guarantees about your safety." I rolled my eyes.

"She could always stay at my house," I suggested "That way no one really needs to keep an eye on her, especially seeing as my house in the middle of at least Jacob's and Embry's. She's not a child," I reminded them.

"Yeah but if that happened we might not know if something did happen." James said to me. I glared at him

"Will you get over it?" I said annoyed

"What?"

"Lex knew the red head was after Bella," James answered, everyone looked at me and I could see the annoyance in their faces

"I didn't have enough time to tell you," I confessed "It's not my fault and I didn't know it was the same vampire, I didn't know her name." Sam cleared his throat and everyone settled down

"If there was somewhere else you felt safe..." Sam asked Bella. Bella bit her lip.

"I don't want to lead Victoria anywhere else," she whispered. Sam nodded.

"That's true. It's better to have her here, where we can end this."

"You'll be careful, right?" Bella asked Jacob. The boys burst into loud hoots of amusement. Everyone laughed at her, except for Emily and me.

"Food's ready," Emily announced then, and the strategic conversation was history. The guys hurried to devour the buffet-sized pan of eggs Emily placed in their midst in record time. I got away from the table within seconds as they threatened to crush it. Emily ate leaning against the counter like Bella and she handed me a separate plate.

"Thanks." I smiled at her. We stood back and watched as the wolves literally devoured the food, complaining when someone got more, arguing over who got what. Eventually it all died down and there was just chatter, nice chatter.

"Hey I have a question," Jared began, talking over everyone, they all stopped before he looked at me. "What was with your eyes?" Jared wondered. Everyone turned to look at me.

I shrugged

"I don't know,"

"It's not the first time it happened," James said "Happened yesterday too. And this morning. Seems to happen when ever she gets angry."

"What's wrong with you?" Paul questioned

"I could ask you the same thing." I snapped. He looked at me both annoyed and confused "I mean really, can't you go a day without ripping your clothes?"

"You don't know me," Paul said angrily

"No, but they do," I reminded him "You're not perfect Paul so don't go bagging me." I warned him

"Alexis," Sam warned me as Paul balled up his fists and a small shudder went down his spine. I sat back, for some reason angering Paul didn't worry me like it should.

"I have another question," James thought, confused. I just waited for him to speak "How'd you reach Paul so fast?" he wondered. Now I was the one with the confused expression.

"Huh?" I asked after a while.

"When we reached them at the road, suddenly you were just in front of me and then you were in front of Paul?" James said, everyone looked at me again.

It was silent for a while as I tried to think of a reason. Eventually I gave up and just shrugged again.

"What's going on?" Emily wondered

"Lexi's weird." Embry said, I shot him a look but, Embry being Embry, just grinned at me.

"What was wrong with your eyes?" Bella wondered

"They turned gold." everyone chorused

"Something's wrong with me, it started yesterday." I expanded on what they'd said.

"Why?"

"Dunno. I passed out yesterday and things have been happening since." I confessed.

"Do you know why?" Emily asked. I shook my head

"If I did, it wouldn't be so weird."

"She growled at me this morning," Jacob suddenly added

"So?" Paul wondered

"It was a real growl," James confessed "She did it to me too."

"Plus there's the fever she's got," Embry remembered

"And she's not scared of anything," Jared said

"And she knows when something bad's going to happen," Jacob pitched in

"What?" everyone chorused, Jacob looked at me

"I call it my sixth sense. Sometimes when something bad's going to happen I get a bad feeling." I confessed. Everyone was staring at me. "Will you stop looking at me like that. I'm retarded, let's just leave it at that." everyone laughed at me.

I was confused though. When they listed it all out like that there obviously really was something wrong with me. And most of it began yesterday after I collapsed… after the snap. After something inside me was released. Was that why? Was what ever had been sealed up making all these weird things happen?

I found it ironic that it started happening the second I found out that everyone I know is somehow related to the supernatural. My friends and family were werewolves, my other friend had been dating a vampire who left her, so I was friends with vampires too. I'd been attacked by two, one of which wanted to kill my vampire-dating-friend.

This was just ridiculous. How could so much unnatural stuff occur around one person? And Bella, she was actually normal — well as far as we knew — and she was smack bam in the middle. Probably worse then me.

Why was Forks so messed up?


	14. Chapter 14

Chapter 13:

The week was then spent of Bella and I hanging out in LaPush. The rest of Sunday we spent at Jake's house, though Jake wasn't actually there as he had the whole patrol thing to do.

"So what's with the whole…" Bella began when Billy was busy and not next to us

"Your guess is as good as mine," I sighed, knowing she was talking about my sudden developments. "I think at first everyone thought I was going to be a wolf." Bella's eyes widened and I nodded "When I first wake up, I just laid there and listened to them talk. Embry said I had a fever and then Paul said it wasn't possible because there'd never been a girl wolf."

"But…" Bella egged

"But, then my temper started flaming up and nothing happened. And then there was the crazy stuff with my eyes, I mean they do a lot of weird things but their eyes are the one thing about them that didn't change." I continued

"And now there's the speed thing, they seem to have that too," Bella noticed

"Yeah, whatever that's about." I sighed

"What about your senses?" Bella asked "I noticed the pack have really good senses,"

"Comes with being the a wolf I guess," I muttered "But, yeah, I think my hearing got better." I shrugged

"Didn't they something about growling?" Bella remembered. I sighed

"Yeah,"

"Well, it sounds sort of animal-ish." Bella admitted

"Think I'm turning into an animal?" I wondered

"I think, out of everyone, you're the last person who'd become an animal." Bella said

"I thought that was Jacob?" I smirked, Bella sighed

"That too, but I think it was must surprising because Jake's human, he was normal," Bella confessed

"And I'm not?" I smirked, she rolled her eyes

"That's not what I meant," she confessed

"I know." I nudged her in the side.

Jacob had dropped by to check on us. Apparently after what Victoria had said to me was still something to worry about. I didn't see how but, they were the 'protectors' so I guess they knew best.

Jacob apologised for ditching us so much. He told us his schedule wasn't always this crazy, but until Victoria was stopped, the wolves were on red alert.

I guess we couldn't blame him, they were only doing what they believed was right.

Monday was no different. It was Spring break at Forks, so Bella and I were at Jacob's again. They wouldn't let us hang at my house, they said seeing as Billy was home it was safer there, because my dad was always working so there wasn't someone to watch us there.

Though Billy wasn't always home either, he, Harry and my dad were looking after Charlie almost twenty-four seven. So I still didn't understand the wolves reasoning. Bella had been to Jacob's house more then mine so her scent was there more then anywhere in LaPush.

Jacob and Bella spent the day on the Beach. I literally refused to go as they hadn't had much time alone since Jacob first changed. I was still rooting for them to get together… once Bella decided she could do it.

Tuesday Bella had to work, so I spent the time at the gym doing more gymnastics. Naturally the boys had thrown a hissy fit at that, saying I couldn't be in Forks nor could I be alone.

"Well I'm not staying in LaPush another day!" I said stubbornly. Jacob had followed Bella to work before coming here to check on me, only to find me ready to leave.

"Well you're not going alone!" Jacob argued

"Fine, send someone with me," I allowed "Oh wait, you're all too busy for that!"

"Which is why you have to stay here." Jacob said sternly

"She's not after me!" I hissed

"But she's trying to get to Forks, you can't go there."

"She's not going to come after me. And she's not going to get past you!" I thought

"We can't take that chance!" Jacob growled

"I'm not the one in trouble!" I yelled at him. My eyes turned gold so many times now — when I'm angry or annoyed — that I know when it happens. It was happening now and I saw Jacob get surprised for a second. It seemed the more often they changed, the longer period of time they stayed gold for. At the beginning they only flashed, now they stayed until I calmed down.

"She said she liked you!" Jacob said

"So?" I glared

"So that obviously means she has something planned for you!" Jacob shouted, his voice booming, it left a ringing in my ears like someone had fired a fog horn right next to my ear.

"Like what?" I demanded "If she wanted to eat me she would have done it without all the fricken chitchat."

"She didn't have time," Jacob thought

"She was with me for about ten minutes before Sam, Jared and Paul showed up!" I screeched. Jacob looked at me, surprised by this.

"Now either get the fuck out of my way or put someone on watch patrol because I am not staying bloody home!" I threatened, my voice rumbling like a growl. I felt the need to leap on him and punch him or something, but I was taking deep breaths, also cause I was shouting, to keep myself semi calm. Jake wasn't doing as well in that compartment, he was shaking like crazy.

"Does your life mean anything to you?" he glared.

"I'm not in danger." I said, our voices lower again.

"How do you know?" he questioned

"How do you know I am?" I asked back "Has someone told you? Has she come after me? Has she seen me since that chance meeting?" I could tell I was winning now, Jake had no hard evidence.

"If you go, you'll be putting everyone in danger…"

"SHE'S NOT FUCKING AFTER ME!" I exploded, I felt a pain in my fingers, my nails were throbbing. My eyes felt a little hot and my teeth were sore, like I'd just had them all moved in a slow process. It reminded me of when people talk about the time they first get their braces on. Only it wasn't all of my teeth, only four of them.

"Will you two quit it already." we spun around to see James standing at the bottom of the stairs. How long had he been there? "Jake, she's not going to give in." James confessed

"But…" Jacob began

"I'll cover your shift, you watch Lex." James offered

"I don't need a baby sitter," I grumbled as the pain in my fingers and jaw faded away and I felt my eyes return to normal. I looked down at my nails for a second while Jacob debated over James' offer.

"Sam wont like it," Jacob confessed

"You don't really have a choice. The only way to keep her here would be to argue with her all day." James sighed "She's extremely stubborn."

"Hey," I defended, looking away from my hands. James shrugged. Jacob looked at me and sighed

"Fine." he agreed. I smiled triumphantly and walked around Jacob, my keys in my hand. I ignored him as I walked through the light rain to my car. Jacob jumped into the passenger seat as I turned on the ignition.

I turned the radio up as we drove, if he spoke, we'd just end up arguing again, until at least we both calmed down.

We reached the gym and Jacob followed me in, I dumped my stuff on the floor, took my shoes and jacket off and pulled on my leg warmers.

"Don't you need your shoes?" Jacob wondered, I looked at him surprised

"Haven't you watched me do this?" I questioned, he shrugged "Well no, not for what I'm planning for today," I confessed

"Which is?" Jacob asked as I stood up. I pointed towards the celling behind me, Jacob's eyes followed before he looked worried.

"Are you crazy?" I looked at him confused

"Jake, I've done it a thousand times… this isn't some vampire you know." I muttered.

"You could kill yourself."

"So could walking to work, or cooking in the kitchen, or driving, or swimming." I reminded him "I've been doing this since I was three, chill out." this protectors thing was beginning to get on my nerves. I walked past him, ending the conversation there, and towards a ladder against the wall. Today I was planning on using the rings.

I reached the top of the ladder where there was a small platform. I took a deep breath and stood still for a minute before I leaped forwards and grabbed the first ring. I swung through the rings until I was in the middle.

I swung my legs up and slipped one leg through a ring, hooking my knee through it before releasing my hand and swinging to another ring, grabbing it again, my belly facing the ground.

I did that a few times before I grabbed one ring with both hands and hoisted myself up rope, twisting my legs around it in a fancy way before grabbing another ring and swinging onto another.

The stretching and flexing was relaxing, calming. I felt a little more flexible too, like the running around LaPush had done me good. Or maybe it was just another weird thing that had happened to me.

I slipped my ankle through a hoop and swung from the one ankle before slipping my arm through another, holding the rope, and slowly lowering myself down before grabbing the ring. I climbed up two ropes before sliding down them both and swinging across several rings until I slipped both feet through one hoop each and did the splits in the air. I hooked one of my ankles, slipped my other foot out, and swung again, grabbing onto another with my hand.

I slipped my legs through the hoops again to my knees before grabbing the ropes and sitting, panting a little. I glanced around before spotting Jacob.

_"I'd forgotten he was there." _I thought, a little guiltily. He was staring at me stunned, I wonder if he'd seen me hang from the rings… I couldn't remember.

I grinned down at him before falling back and slipping my legs out of the rings while I reached up to grab a ring behind me with my hand.

Unfortunately, I'd miss interpreted were the ring was, and my hand grasped nothing but air as my feet slipped out of the rings.

I gasped as I fell towards the floor, I heard footsteps as Jacob seemed to snap out of his daze and run to catch me. I can't believe I was so careless, I got distracted. The one thing you never allow to happen is to get distracted, by anything!

I don't know how it happened, but I watched as the celling disappeared from my sight and the world suddenly spun before I was facing the ground and my feet suddenly hit touch down, followed by my right hand to prevent me from falling forward.

I stood their completely confused for a second before I realised that I hadn't hit the ground and possibly broken something… I landed on my feet. I didn't even mean to do so, personally I didn't think I had enough time, and I even then I thought I'd break a leg. That didn't happen.

I removed my arm from the ground and slowly stood up, moving my limbs and muscles to see if anything was damaged. It seemed I was perfectly fine.

"Lexi!" Jacob said, his hands suddenly on my shoulders as I looked at my right hand "Are you alright?" he questioned

"Yeah…" I stuttered surprised. I looked up at his face, it held worry, fear, confusion and surprise. "Somehow," I added. Jacob examined my face before seeming to agree with my answer.

"How'd you do that?" he asked. I shook my head and shrugged

"I was just worrying about landing on my back and breaking something before I was suddenly spinning and my feet hit the floor," I confessed

"You spun your body around in order to do so," Jacob said "That's what it looked like."

"It wasn't deliberate." I muttered

"How can you do that accidentally?" Jacob wondered. I shook my head again. Why? Why was I just getting weirder? Why was anything happening to me at all?

"I think I'm ready to go home now." I decided. Jacob nodded in agreement, he'd been away from his duty too long.

Jacob took my hand and lead me over to my stuff before draping my jacket over my shoulders while I pulled my shoes on. Jake carried my stuff outside while leading me towards my car. He snagged the keys from me and forced me into the passenger seat before driving home.

I just stared out the window. How did I land on my feet? How did I have the reflexes to do so? I mean sure I was flexible but no ones first instinct when their falling is to turn around to land on their feet, usually it's to put their arms out, otherwise they just… don't do anything.

I could see the glances Jacob kept throwing my way every five minutes, he examined me every time, just to make sure I was alright. Physically I seemed perfectly well, but mentally, I had too many things on my mind. To many things were happening at once, all so fast.

_"Is this because something was released?"_ I questioned, remembering the snapping feeling, the feeling of being filled to the brim by something. But what was it? And why was it locked away?

"You sure you're okay?" Jacob eventually asked

"Yeah…" I mumbled

"Sure —"

"Physically I'm fine." I cut him off

"But mentally…" he continued my sentence. I sighed

"Mentally I'm just confused." I confessed.

"Hey," Jacob put an arm around my shoulders "We'll find out what's going on," he promised "You're not alone."

"Neither are you." I smiled reminding him, he shrugged.

"By the way, that was really good," he admitted, talking about my performance. I smirked "Until you fell." he added. I glared at him

"Was that last bit really necessary?"

"Yes," he nodded. I rolled my eyes at him. "It was incredible to watch though."

"Thanks." I smiled. The rest of the drive proceeded in silence.

Jacob and I didn't tell anyone else about my incident, well, not until he phased, I wasn't sure if the pack knew about it after that. The one thing we promised on was not to tell Emily or Bella just yet, they'd probably freak out if we did.

* * *

That night, Sam and Emily joined Charlie, Bella, Dad and me for dessert at Billy's house. Mum didn't come, said she needed to look after James, keep up that charade.

Emily brought a cake that would have won over a harder man than Charlie. Which was good because Bella had told me, that after she had told him that Sam was responsible for Jacob ignoring her, Charlie wasn't really impressed.

It was different now, you could see, as the conversation flowed naturally through a range of casual subjects, that any worries Charlie might have harboured about gangs in La Push were being dissolved.

Jake, Bella and I skipped out early, to get some privacy. We went out to his garage and sat in the Rabbit, Jacob and Bella in the front while I lied on the back seat. Jacob leaned his head back, his face drawn with exhaustion.

"You need some sleep, Jake." Bella said

"I'll get around to it." He reached over and took Bella's hand.

"When was the last time you had a proper night's sleep?" I wondered

"Your house." he sighed, I thought

"That was two nights ago," I remembered "And you didn't even sleep all night, so more like three nights ago." he just shrugged and I rolled my eyes. We had a moment of silence before Bella spoke

"Is that one of those wolf things?" she asked him. "The heat, I mean." she was talking about his temperature.

"Yeah. We run a little warmer than the normal people. About one-oh-eight, one-oh-nine. I

never get cold anymore. I could stand like this" — he gestured to his bare torso —"in a

snowstorm and it wouldn't bother me. The flakes would turn to rain where I stood."

"What about Lex?"

"She's just weird."

"Thanks." I muttered "I think we've clarified that."

"And you all heal fast — that's a wolf thing, too?" Bella wondered

"Yeah, wanna see? It's pretty cool." His eyes flipped open and he grinned. He reached around Bella to the glove compartment and dug around for a minute. His hand came out with a pocketknife.

"No, I do not want to see!" Bella shouted as soon as she realised what he was thinking. "Put that away!" Jacob chuckled, but shoved the knife back where it belonged.

"Fine."

"You should know better Jake, you know she's squeamish with blood," I reminded him. Jacob sighed

"It's a good thing we heal, though. You can't go see just any doctor when you're running a temperature that should mean you're dead."

"No, I guess not." Bella paused for a minute. "… And being so big – that's part of it? Is

that why you're all worried about Quil?"

"That and the fact that Quil's grandfather says the kid could fry an egg on his forehead."

Jacob's face turned hopeless. "It won't be long now. There's no exact age… it just builds and builds and then suddenly —" He broke off, and it was a moment before he could speak again.

"Sometimes, if you get really upset or something, that can trigger it early. But I wasn't upset about anything — I was happy." He laughed bitterly. "Because of you, mostly. That's why it didn't happen to me sooner. Instead it just kept on building up inside me — I was like a time bomb. You know what set me off? I got back from that movie and Lex put me in my room. Well after she'd left, Billy said I looked weird. That was all, but I just snapped. And then I–I exploded. I almost ripped his face off — my own father!" He shuddered, and his face paled.

"It's not your fault." I muttered, surprised. Two more seconds and I could have known from the beginning. Jacob didn't answer me.

"Is it really bad, Jake?" Bella asked anxiously. "Are you miserable?"

"No, I'm not miserable," he told her. "Not anymore. Not now that you two know. That was hard, before. Lex wasn't helping," He leaned over so that his cheek was resting on top of Bella's head.

"Sorry." I grumbled "Not my fault I didn't want to loose my friends." he chuckled before he was quiet for a moment.

"What's the hardest part?" Bella whispered.

"The hardest part is feeling… out of control," he said slowly. "Feeling like I can't be sure of

myself — like maybe you shouldn't be around me, like maybe nobody should. Like I'm a

monster who might hurt somebody. You've seen Emily. Sam lost control of his temper for

just one second… and she was standing too close. And now there's nothing he can ever do to put it right again. I hear his thoughts — I know what that feels like. Who wants to be a nightmare, a monster? And then, the way it comes so easily to me, the way I'm better at it than the rest of them — does that make me even less human than Embry or Sam? Sometimes I'm afraid that I'm losing myself." I sat up, a little surprised by this. I put an arm around his shoulder and he glanced at me

"You're not loosing yourself," I assured him "If you do, we'll remind you."

"Still…" he mumbled

"Is it hard? To find yourself again?" Bella asked

"At first," he said. "It takes some practice to phase back and forth. But it's easier for me."

"Why?" Bella wondered.

"Because Ephraim Black was my father's grandfather, and Quil Ateara was my mother's

grandfather." Right, the stories. I leaned my chin on his shoulder.

"Quil?" Bella asked in confusion.

"His great-grandfather," Jacob clarified. "The Quil you know is my second cousin."

"But why does it matter who your great-grandfathers are?"

"Because Ephraim, Quil and Lex's great grandfather were in the last pack. Levi Uley was the fourth. It's in my blood on both sides. I never had a chance. James didn't have a chance. Like Quil doesn't have a chance." His expression was bleak.

"It's amazing how connected our families are," I admitted, Jacob smirked for a second but it didn't last long.

"What's the very best part?" Bella asked, hoping to cheer him up.

"The best part," he said, suddenly smiling again, "is the speed." I smirked. That was a pretty good part, having experienced it.

"Better than the motorcycles?" Bella wondered. He nodded, enthusiastic.

"There's no comparison."

"How fast can you…?"

"Run?" he finished her question. "Fast enough. What can I measure it by? We caught… What was his name? Laurent? I imagine that means more to you than it would to someone else." there was silence while Bella measured that.

"So, tell me something I don't know," he said. "Something about vampires. How did you

stand it, being around them? Didn't it creep you out?"

"No," Bella said curtly. Bella's tone made him thoughtful for a moment.

"Say, why'd your bloodsucker kill that James, anyway?" he asked suddenly.

"James was trying to kill me — it was like a game for him. He lost. Do you remember last

spring when I was in the hospital down in Phoenix?"

"Yeah, you broke your leg, lost a lot of blood. You were out for ages. The story you told everyone was that you went out a window." I remembered, Bella sighed "He did that?" I asked surprised. She nodded. Jacob sucked in a breath.

"He got that close?"

"He got very, very close." Bella stroked her scar. Jacob noticed, because he held the hand she moved.

"What's that?" He traded hands, examining her right. "This is your funny scar, the cold one." it was the crescent scar, just a little lighter then the rest of her skin. Jacob looked at it closer, with new eyes, and gasped.

"What?" I questioned

"Yes, it's what you think it is," Bella said. "James bit me." Bit her? As in? How is she still here then? Jacob's eyes bulged, and his face turned a strange, shallow colour under the russet surface. He looked like he was about to be sick.

"But if he bit you... ? Shouldn't you be... ?" He choked. I understood from the stories. If James bit Bella, then shouldn't she be a vampire too? Or dead?

"Edward saved me twice," Bella whispered. "He sucked the venom out — you know, like with a rattlesnake." Bella twitched and her hand tightened around her midriff.

But she wasn't the only one twitching. I could feel Jacob's whole body trembling. Even the car shook.

"Jake," I said softly, a hand on his arm.

"Careful, Jake. Easy. Calm down." Bella said

"Yeah," he panted. "Calm." He shook his head back and forth quickly. After a moment, only

his hands were shaking.

"You okay?" Bella

"Yeah, almost. Tell me something else. Give me something else to think about."

"What do you want to know?"

"I don't know." He had his eyes closed, concentrating. "The extra stuff I guess. Did any of the other Cullens have… extra talents? Like the mind reading?"

"Mind reading?" I questioned

"Yeah, Edward could read minds," Bella nodded, clutching herself.

"Great. The dudes been in my head." I grumbled

"He hasn't," Bella corrected. I looked at her confused

"But…"

"He can't read your mind." she said. I looked more confused

"Why?" she shrugged

"It was one of the things he mentioned to me a few times. It confused him."

"I'm not sure if that's a good thing,"

"What do you mean?" Jake asked

"Well it just adds to the weird things about me," I confessed. Jacob smirked "Anyway, can any of the others do things?" I repeated Jacob's question.

"Jasper could… sort of control the emotions of the people around him. Not in a bad way, just to calm someone down, that kind of thing. It would probably help Paul a lot," she added, teasing weakly. "And then Alice could see things that were going to happen. The future, you know, but not absolutely. The things she saw would change when someone changed the path they were on…"

"So if they changed their mind the vision would change?" I asked. Bella nodded. Again Bella's arm tightened around her torso. Jacob noticed this time.

"Why do you do that?" he asked. He tugged lightly at one of her arms, which was bound around her chest, and then gave up when it wouldn't come loose easily. "You do that when you're upset. Why?"

"It hurts to think about them," Bella whispered. "It's like I can't breathe… like I'm breaking into pieces…"

"That's why you've been having the nightmares, and waking up screaming," I muttered. Bella looked at me "Charlie told us in the beginning." I explained. Bella nodded weakly. Jacob smoothed her hair.

"It's okay, Bella, it's okay. I won't bring it up again. I'm sorry."

"I'm fine." she gasped. "Happens all the time. Not your fault."

"We're pretty messed-up, aren't we?" Jacob said. Giving both Bella and I a look "Neither one of us can hold our shape together right." he looked at me "And you're just…"

"Yeah…" I muttered, earning a smile

"Pathetic," Bella agreed, still breathless.

"At least we have each other," he said, clearly comforted by the thought.

"At least there's that," Bella agreed. I smiled at them.

That was one of the rare occasions Jacob spent time with us. Bella and I studied for all we could, having so much free time. And on Wednesday we spent a few hours at Emily's, watching as she flitted around her little house and yard, scrubbing at the spotless floor, pulling a tiny weed, fixing a broken hinge, tugging a string of wool through an ancient loom, and always cooking, too. She complained lightly about the increase in the boys' appetites from all their extra running, but it was easy to see she didn't mind taking care of them.

After that I'd gone home for a little bit, giving Bella some space from me. Jacob had turned up at my house when he came looking for her.

"Where's Bella?"

"Probably the beach." I shrugged "Come on." I decided and we went down to find her.

Jacob was terrified when we found her curled up in a ball amongst the rocks.

"Sorry," he said right away. He pulled her up from the ground and wrapped both arms around Bella's shoulders. "I'm ruining your spring break," Jacob accused himself as we walked back up the beach.

"No, you're not. I didn't have any plans. I don't think I like spring breaks, anyway."

"I'll take tomorrow morning off. The others can run without me. We'll do something fun." The word seemed out of place in our life right now, barely comprehensible, bizarre.

"Fun?"

"Fun is exactly what you need. Hmm…" he gazed out across the heaving grey waves, deliberating.

"What do we do for fun?" I wondered as his eyes scanned the horizon, he had a flash of inspiration.

"Got it!" he crowed. "Another promise to keep."

"What are you talking about?" Bella asked. I was just as confused. Jacob let go of Bella's hand and pointed toward the southern edge of the beach, where the flat, rocky half-moon dead-ended against the sheer sea cliffs. I didn't understand, and by her expression, clearly Bella didn't either.

"Didn't I promise to take you cliff diving?" Bella shivered. "Yeah, it'll be pretty cold — not as cold as it is today. Can you feel the weather changing? The pressure? It will be warmer tomorrow. You up for it?"

"You can feel the weather?" I wondered. He nodded. It must have been an animal thing. Pressure huh? Did he mean like humidity? Cause that I could feel, but pressure?

These boys just keep getting weirder and weirder.

"Sure, I'm up for it. Fun." Bella decided. Jacob looked at me

"You're actually asking?" I questioned "Done it before remember," I smirked. Jacob rolled his eyes.

"It's a date," he said, and draped his arms around both mine and Bella's shoulders.

"Pimp." I smirked, he grinned at me.

"Okay — now let's go get you some sleep." Bella decided. I understood why that was her choice of things to do. The circles under Jacob's eyes were beginning to look permanently etched onto his skin.

Balla had literally forced Jacob into his room to sleep when we got back to his house. Jacob made me assure him that I'd keep her company in order to make him feel better.

Bella left a few hours later, though I stayed and made dinner for Billy before getting into my car — which Jake is forcing me to drive everywhere instead of walking, does he not know how expensive petrol is lately? — and drove back home to my house. Naturally when I got there James was fast asleep on the couch.

I sighed. There used to be a time where I could carry him back up to his room and to his bed. Now there was no way of that being possible. So instead I grabbed a blanket and threw it over his sleeping form — though he didn't need it really — and went upstairs to my own room. I potted around for an hour or two seeing as it wasn't that late before deciding to climb into my bed. Of course, I couldn't fall to sleep though.

It took me about another hour before my eyes seemed to finally got droopy. And the last thing I heard, was a howl in the distance.


	15. Chapter 15

Chapter 14:

I woke up and clutched my stomach. I felt awful. I jumped out of bed and ran to the bathroom. I leaned over the toilet, but nothing happened. The feeling in my stomach was still there.

"Oh no…" I muttered. It wasn't that I was feeling sick.

There was a knock on the bathroom door. I turned to see James standing there looking concerned. Oops I'd forgotten to hit the door shut.

"Are you alright?" he questioned

"I'm leaning over a toilet bowl, what do you think?" I asked obviously

"Well I didn't hear anything," he confessed. I sighed before slowly standing up

"I'm fine." I assured him

"You don't look fine?" James confessed before he followed me into my room. I sat down on my bed and pulled the covers back over me before hugging my knees.

"I have a bad feeling,"

"So?" James wondered. I shook my head

"You don't understand, it's a bad, stomach churning feeling," I explained jogging his memory of when I'd told him about this. He watched me for a minute

"That kind of bad feeling," he muttered, understanding. I nodded

"My 'sixth sense'."

"About what?" James questioned

"I don't know," I said obviously "If I knew that it wouldn't worry me. But it's never ended with something happy."

"Well, those feelings never do," James sighed. I nodded

"It's never made me feel like I need to be sick though," I muttered.

"Maybe it's getting worse?" James offered. I looked at him

"James, what's wrong with me?" I asked him. He just looked at me, examining me before he shook his head.

We were interrupted by the sound of a howl that erupted from the trees. It was so quiet that no one could hear it but those with sharp enough ears. This annoyed me. How was I able to hear it?

James sighed.

"Was it Sam?" I asked, he nodded.

"It was an order," he explained.

"Better see what's up then." I decided. I stood up but stumbled a little and James caught me "Thanks." I smiled before gathering my bearings and walking out of my room and down the stairs.

"Where are you going?" James wondered when I walked towards the back door.

"Calm down I'm not coming, I just want to know what's going on." I assured him. He looked at me as though he didn't believe me. I didn't blame him.

"James I'm still in my PJ's," I reminded him. He rolled his eyes "Just go and phase, find out what's going on, phase back and tell me. Then you can leave, because I'm not sitting here waiting for hours to find out what's going on." I said stubbornly. James looked at me, he looked like he was debating whether it was worth arguing with me or not. He chose the smarter path and sighed before he walked past me and disappeared into the trees.

"You better not run off on me. Or I might have to get myself in trouble." I mumbled warningly. I heard him huff as he walked a little further away.

I sat on the back steps as I waited for him to get the info. I knew my brother well enough to know he wouldn't leave me hanging, mainly because he knew I'd do something crazy to get back at him, and living in vampire infested Forks was bound to make it dangerous too.

After a few minutes James came out of the trees. I looked at his expression, it was fierce, serious and ready for action. What could have happened that…

"Victoria," I said standing up

"Jared, Embry and Paul caught a fresh trail," James explained "Sam's hopeful – she's hedged herself in beside the mountains. He thinks we have a good chance to finish this." James assured me. I took a deep breath and nodded.

"Alright, afterwards go to Emily's house and we'll have a feast. I'll go over and help her make it all." I said, giving them something to look forward to

"Just stay out of the woods," James half ordered

"I'm not an idiot James." I said seriously. He raised and eyebrow and I scowled at him before he turned around and ran into the trees again. This time however I heard his four paws thud against the ground and then push off hard.

"Well. There goes our cliff jumping day." I muttered. I turned around to walk back inside. I wasn't sure if making a feast was a good idea, as this seemed to be the reason my stomach was churning. Something bad was going to come of this, the question was, what was it?

I made breakfast, in fact I made a heap of breakfast. I made scrambled eggs and bacon, pancakes, sausages, baked beans, smoked salmon, muffins, croissants, all just to pass the time.

I sat down and dug into the food. It wasn't until I was finished that I realised I'd eaten half of the food pile, by my self. I stared at it for a minute

"Great, the boys' eating habits are contagious." I grumbled getting up. I walked upstairs to my room and changed out of my pyjamas and into some proper clothes.

My parents were still in bed asleep, I guess today they'd decided to both have the day off. Good. They needed a break every now and then. It can't be easy having a werewolf son who's running around killing vampires every night… well, they've only killed one so far…

That made me nervous. But I'd heard the stories, I heard all the wisdom and skills that had been passed down from Ephraim Black, Levi Uley, Old Quil and my grandfather, Muraco.

"They'll be fine" I assured myself as I brushed my teeth. "They're giant wolves for christ sake…" I paused. Everything has a kryptonite… so what's theirs?

I shook my head, I didn't want to know.

I walked down the stairs and out the front door, I couldn't stay home. I'd only worry. I needed to do something, anything, to occupy myself.

Walking outside I immediately understood what Jacob meant about pressure. I hadn't noticed it before but it was warmer. The humidity was high and the smell of water littered the air, despite the fact that it hadn't rained since yesterday. I looked up, the clouds

were churning sluggishly despite the lack of breeze on the ground. The closest clouds were a smoky grey, but between the cracks I could see another layer that was a gruesome purple colour. A storm was brewing, an it didn't look pleasant. The skies had a ferocious plan in store for today.

I sighed and looked towards my car. I could prevent getting wet by driving, but in all honesty, I didn't want to drive, and the thought of the rain wasn't worrying. I put my hands into the pockets of my jackets, not cause I was cold, but cause I needed to put them somewhere, and turned away from the car, walking in the direction of the beach. I might as well check on Billy and Bella.

Bella. She's probably worried stiff. If I thought about it from her perspective, I could understand why. Bella had been surrounded by vampires, she knew what they were capable of, what they could do. She knew what the boys were capable of, but hadn't witnessed it. She didn't have faith in the fact that their bodies were actually built to rival that of a vampire's.

Even thinking it it made sense, but I couldn't look down on Bella for it, to be perfectly honest I was worried too. Bella's worry made me realise it was a real threat, and although I hadn't felt fear when I saw Victoria, I felt fear for their lives. My childhood friends were out protecting people, protecting us all. The thought just made me feel useless.

It didn't take me long to reach Billy's, and I was glad. I didn't need anymore time to think about this. I walked towards the door and just walked in while wrapping my knuckled on the door.

"Hello?" I called

"Hey," Billy called, he was in the lounge room. I walked through the little house to see him.

"Alexis, how are you?" he wondered smiling. I shrugged

"Bored." I confessed "I hate waiting around for news." He nodded, as though he knew exactly what I was feeling. He probably did. It was his family too.

I looked around the room and noticed something was wrong.

"Where's Bella?" I asked, I could smell her, she'd been here recently.

"She went to the beach a few minutes ago," Billy explained, I nodded

"I'll go see how she's doing then," I decided. No doubt she's worrying her head off.

"Be careful." Billy ordered as I walked back towards the door

"I will." I promised.

Walking through the trees to the beach I realised it was awfully quiet. There were no animals around, no birds, no sounds of insects. Nothing.

"Must be the storm." I muttered. The trees broke apart and the ocean came into view. It was off. The water was raging. The waves were harsh and strong, they crashed against the shore and rocks, sounding like boulders crashing together. The noise was loud and deafening, especially to my suddenly improved ears.

I looked along the beach, there was no one here. Knowing Bella I walked towards were she and Jacob spent most of their time here. But when I got there that was empty too. She wouldn't lie to Billy about her whereabouts, that would send everyone into a panic and kind of ruin the point of her being here.

I looked around as water suddenly bashed my face. Looking up at the sky as it released huge heavy raindrops. The few drops turned into many and it didn't take long for me to soak through. Surprisingly, I didn't care. It wasn't cold, just wet.

Something a little ways off caught my attention. I looked up towards the cliffs and noticed it immediately. It was Bella! She was standing on the top of the cliff, looking down. She was going to jump.

"Is she crazy!" I swore. I watched as she raised her arms and then, after a second, she jumped. She twirled through the sky and an ear splitting scream came out of her mouth. But it wasn't filled with fear, more like adrenalin. I looked at the water as she sliced through it, they were crazy. She was crazy. It was all well and fine to jump but the waters below meant business and they were not likely to give up their new prisoner.

I came to the conclusion that she wasn't going to resurface after a few minutes of her not showing.

I heard footsteps and turned to see Jacob running towards me.

"She jumped!" I shouted, as he reached me, both angry and worried.

"Why?" Jacob asked seriously, it sounded like he was blaming me

"I didn't let her!" I said seriously. "I came looking for her to see if she was alright and turned to see her jump off the cliff!" I shouted at him. I then remembered she still hadn't surfaced

"Stop arguing with me, you can shout later, go fucking get her!" I pushed Jacob and surprisingly, he actually moved. Jacob sprinted for the waters and disappeared into them, I just watched and waited.

"Alexis!" I turned to see Sam

"Bella jumped in." I explained quickly "Jake's getting her. What happened with Victoria?" I demanded to know, trying to distract myself. I think he understood that fact as he answered me.

"She got away, jumped into the ocean." Sam explained. I looked at him for a second before shock spread over my face and I turned towards the waves.

"More importantly…" Sam began, I looked at him, what could be worse? "Harry had a heart attack," my breath hitched and I froze. His face was solum, worried as we waited for Jacob. I couldn't talk. I couldn't move. I didn't want to ask and Sam didn't answer. I knew what that meant.

He wasn't okay.

"Your dad's at their house." Sam said as he placed a hand on my shoulder. That didn't help. I distracted myself by looking out at the waves. The first thing I saw, was Jacob. He was carrying Bella as he dragged her out. She was so pale, she didn't look like she was breathing. I took a deep breath, hoping she was okay. Jacob placed her carefully on the ground and I kneeled next to her before Jacob began pounding her chest to get the water out. Her lips were purple as she jolted. I moved Jacob's hands and turned Bella onto her side

"Hit her back, with her head facing up the water's only going to sit in her airways." I instructed. Jacob listened to me and began doing so. The water came rushing out of Bella's mouth and nose as I held her head.

"Breath!" Jacob begged. He hit the centre of her back again and more water poured out. I could hear Bella's heart beating so that made me let out the breath I didn't realise I'd been holding.

"Breath, Bella. Come on" Jacob continued. She heaved and air entered her body. I let out a huge sigh.

"Bella…" I said, half expecting an answer. She didn't speak, just continued to enjoy the air in her lungs.

"Bella?" Jacob asked, his voice tense "Bells, honey, can you hear me?"

"How long has she been unconscious?" Sam asked

"I don't know," Jacob reported, still frantic. He brushed wet hair from Bella's cheeks. "A few minutes? It didn't take long to tow her to the beach."

"Well she only jumped a few minutes ago, so not long." I agreed

"She's breathing. She'll come around. We should get her out of the cold, though. I don't like colour she's turning…" Sam confessed. I couldn't blame him, Bella was almost a sickening pale. Guess that's what happens when you jump into icy cold water and almost drown.

"You think it's okay to move her?" Jacob wondered

"She didn't hurt her back or anything when she fell?" Sam asked. They looked at me but I just shrugged

"I don't know," I admitted. How was I supposed to know that? I looked back at Bella, just in time to see her eyes open.

"Bella!" I said gratefully

"Jake?" she croaked. Jacob leaned over her "Lex?" she asked.

"Oh!" Jacob gasped, relief washing over his features. His eyes were wet from the rain. In all the commotion I'd forgotten it was raining. "Oh, Bella! Are you okay? Can you hear me? Do you hurt anywhere?" Jacob bombarded her with questions while I rubbed her arm. She must have been freezing.

"J-Just m-my throat," she stuttered, her lips quivering from the cold.

"Let's get you out of here, then," Jacob said. He slid his arms under her and lifted her up bridal style without effort – like picking up an empty box. He hunched his shoulders

to keep the rain off of her as I stood up. I brushed the sand off and looked towards the waves, they were as bad as ever.

Then, something caught my eye… it didn't fit in with the black waves. It was a red spot, like the waves were burning in just that one little area.

I recognised that red. I glared and stared at it angrily.

"You got her?" Sam asked.

"Yeah, I'll take it from here. Get back to the hospital. I'll join you later. Thanks, Sam." Jacob assured him.

"Lex," Jacob called. I tore my gaze from the red and walked after them just in time to see Sam disappear into the trees.

I walked behind Jake, ignoring the rain. Today really was awful and the churning feeling in my stomach had faded considerably. It wasn't there because the boys were going to get hurt. It was because Bella almost drowned and Harry had a heart attack. How could so much happen in one day?

"How did you find me?" Bella rasped, breaking the silence.

"I was searching for you," he told her. He was half-jogging through the rain, up the beach

toward the road. I managed to keep up. "I followed the tire tracks to your truck, and then I heard you scream…" He shuddered. "Why would you jump, Bella? Didn't you notice that it's turning into a hurricane out here? Couldn't you have waited for me?" Anger filled his tone as the relief faded.

"Sorry," Bella muttered. "It was stupid."

"Got that right," I grumbled "Gave me a heart attack."

"Yeah, it was really stupid," he agreed, drops of rain shaking free of his hair as he nodded. "Look, do you mind saving the stupid stuff for when I'm around? I won't be able to concentrate if I think you're jumping off cliffs behind my back."

"Sure," Bella agreed. "No problem." she sounded like a chain-smoker. Bella tried to clear her throat before speaking again "What happened today? Did you… find her?" It was Bella's turn to shudder. Jacob shook his head. He was still more running than walking as we headed up the road to his house.

"No. She took off into the water – the bloodsuckers have the advantage there. That's why I raced home – I was afraid she was going to double back swimming. You spend so much time on the beach…" He trailed off, a catch in his throat.

"Sam came back with you… is everyone else home, too?"

"Yeah. Sort of." Jacob answered

"Sort of…" I muttered, they must be with Harry.

"You said… hospital. Before, to Sam. Is someone hurt? Did she fight you?" Bella's voice jumped up an octave, sounding strange with the hoarseness.

"No, no. When we got back, Em was waiting with the news. It's Harry Clearwater. Harry

had a heart attack this morning." Jacob said clearly.

"Harry?" Bella shook her head, trying to absorb what he was staying. "Oh, no! Does Charlie know?"

"Yeah. He's over there, too, with my dad, and Lexi's parents."

"It's amazing how I left home for a few minutes and the world crashes to hell," I muttered as the house came into view.

"Is Harry going to be okay?" Bella wondered Jacob's eyes tightened again.

"It doesn't look so great right now."

"What can I do?" Bella asked. We walked through the front door of Jacob's house. The storm pounded against the roof.

"You can stay here," Jacob said as he dumped Bella on the short couch. "I mean it – right _here_. I'll get you some dry clothes." and he walked off into another room. I sat next to Bella.

"Are you alright?" I wondered. She nodded

"What were you doing?"

"Looking for you. I was worried about them, I assumed you would be too. I saw you jump." I said simply

"Sorry," Bella muttered.

"You just like being reckless lately don't you?" I sighed

"Sorry." she muttered again. Jacob was back in seconds. He threw a pile of grey cotton at Bella.

"These will be huge on you, but it's the best I've got. I'll, er, step outside so you can change."

"Don't go anywhere. I'm too tired to move yet. Just stay with me." Bella half begged. Jacob looked at me and I just gave him a look. It was better she wasn't alone. Jacob sat on the floor next to Bella, his back against the couch. He leaned his head on the cushion next to Bella's and yawned.

"Guess I could rest for a minute…" His eyes closed and Bella let her's slide shut, too. I eased myself off the couch and into the kitchen, boiling the kettle and making warm beverages to warm Bella up. Not surprisingly, I wasn't feeling the cold water on me, thanks to my retarded body. I pulled my jacket off and hung it on one of the dinning chairs. I could at least minimise the amount of water I was wearing.

I walked back into the lounge room and smiled. Bella was fast asleep next to the radiator that sat next to the couch and Jacob was snoring softly away next to her. I pulled my phone out of my pocket, grabbing some tissues to dry it off first. I pressed the on button.

It still worked so that was a relief. I opened the camera and took a silent picture of the two of them. They were adorable together. I went and grabbed a blanket from Jacob's room and draped it over Bella. She was still in her wet clothes but with the radiator and Jacob, they'd dry quickly.

I went and sat in the kitchen, unlike the two of them, I was well rested. I wasn't running around all night, or waking up from terrible nightmares like they were. They were right. They are an odd pair.

I grabbed a glass of water and placed it on the table in front of Bella for when she woke up. All that sea water in her lunges couldn't have been good. It would explain why her voice was so hoarse, even her breathing now was staggering to be clear.

I walked up to the book shelf in the living room and, after roaming over the spines for a minute, I grabbed one and sat down on a chair to read it.

I couldn't go home. It'd be depressing and empty. At least here it seemed a little more peaceful, with the sleeping couple in the room. Here it was like nothing could touch us, nothing could go wrong.

I settled down comfortably and opened the book. I needed to pass the time somehow, this seemed a pretty good way to do it.

A few hours later, after the sun had set, Bella woke up. Jacob was still asleep though; he'd slumped down to the floor and his breathing was deep and even. God he needed it. It'd been a while since he'd last slept properly. It was the same as James, but only so many of them could get a good nights sleep at a time.

I got up and grabbed the glass of water to give Bella.

"Thanks," she muttered as she downed the glass "What time is it?" she wondered

"Late." I shrugged

"How long was I out?"

"Practically all day." I smiled "You looked like you needed it." She nodded as I went to refill her glass. I handed it to her, full again and she drank half of it before looking at Jacob on the floor. I sat back in my chair as her mind seemed to wonder.

Jacob's slow, deep breathing was the only sound in the room – like a lullaby hummed to a

child, like the whisper of a rocking chair, like the ticking of an old clock when you had

nowhere you needed to go… it was the sound of comfort and filled the air.

Bella sighed, I looked up at her as she then groaned when the sigh scraped her throat.

"You alright?" I wondered. She nodded and drunk the rest of the water in the glass. I was going to need to get her some more. One of the good things about being a big sister; you act like that with everyone else too. Bella closed her eyes and drifted again. I looked back at my book.

This was nice. I liked this silence, of us sort of spending time together. Neither Bella or I would want to change this silence. Especially seeing as that involved waking Jacob, and there was no way we'd do that. He needed the rest to much.

My thoughts were interrupted by the sound of a car approaching the house. I listened as the tires squelching through the mud on the road outside. I heard it stop in front of the house, and doors started opening and closing. I heard a few clicks as Billy's wheel chair was unfolded. I heard the wheels and immediately stood up to get the door. Billy's voice was easily identifiable, but he kept it uncharacteristically low, so that it was only a gravelly grumble.

I saw him as Sam pushed him to the door. I felt my eyes well up with tears when I saw their faces. I stood out of the way as Sam flicked on the lights and wheeled Billy in. The noise startled Jake awake, gasping and jumping to his feet.

"Sorry," Billy grunted. "Did we wake you?" I shook my head as the tears poured down my face, I couldn't speak, I couldn't even lean down to comfort him.

"Oh, no, Billy!" Bella moaned, understanding. He nodded slowly, his expression hard with grief. That did it. My eyes flooded, probably going red as I bit my lip to hold back the hicks and sharp breaths.

Jake hurried to his father and took one of his hands. The pain made his face suddenly childlike – it looked odd on top of the man's body. Sam's normal composure was absent from his agonised face.

"I'm so sorry," Bella whispered. Billy nodded.

"It's gonna be hard all around."

"Where's Charlie?"

"Your dad is still at the hospital with Sue. There are a lot of… arrangements to be made." Sam put an arm around my shoulders and rubbed my arm as the tears continued to flood. Harry had always been like a father to me. Family. As was Billy.

"I'd better get back there," Sam mumbled, and squeezed my arm before he ducked hastily out the door. I just stood there.

Billy pulled his hand away from Jacob, and then he rolled himself through the kitchen toward his room.

Jake stared after him for a minute, before his eyes landed on me. I immediately felt his arms around me as I cried and he tried to comfort me. I appreciated it, but it wouldn't help. Jacob seemed to realise it eventually before he pulled me to the couch and sat on the floor beside Bella again. He put his face in his hands. Bella gave me a hug before she rubbed his shoulder.

After a long moment, Jacob caught her hand and held it to his face.

"How are you feeling? Are you okay? I probably should have taken you to a doctor or

something." He sighed.

"Don't worry about me," Belle croaked. I tried to stop my tears. I was crying silently, you wouldn't have even known unless you looked at me. He twisted his head to look at Bella. His eyes were rimmed in red. "You don't look so good."

"I don't feel so good, either, I guess." Bella admitted

"I'll go get your truck and then take you home – you probably ought to be there when Charlie gets back."

"Right." Jacob got up and he left the house, heading back to the beach. Bella placed an arm around me as she sat listlessly on the sofa while we waited for him. Billy was silent in the other room. Other then a few sobs that escaped my mouth, it was perfectly quiet.

It didn't take Jake long. The roar of Bella's truck's engine broke the silence before I expected it.

He helped her up from the couch without speaking. He came back and took my hands.

"Come on, you need to go too." he said. He was right. But I didn't want to. Home was going to be even worse then here. Both parents would be a reck, my mother especially. James would be just as bad as me, though he'd never admit to crying.

I let Jacob drag me to Bella's truck.

"I don't want to go home yet," I said softly

"You're gonna have to," Jacob said as he sat me in the passenger seat with Bella next to me

"But not yet." I mumbled.

"Why don't you come back to my house for a while?" Bella asked. "At least till Charlie gets home," I guess she understood how I felt. She placed an arm around me as I thanked her silently. Jacob took the driver's seat without asking, and then pulled Bella next to his side to keep his arm tight around her. I stared out the window, the sobs had stopped but the tears wouldn't. I knew I'd cry when I got home, I wish I could just save them for later.

"How will you get home?" Bella asked.

"I'm not going home. We still haven't caught the bloodsucker, remember?" Jacob said seriously. Bella's next shudder had nothing to do with cold.

It was a quiet ride after that.

Bella had a point. I was going to have to get James to come and get me later, after he'd composed himself. Why did this all happen? Bella jumped off a cliff, Harry passed away, Victoria got away. Today just couldn't get any worse could it. My churning feeling was gone the second I found out about Harry's passing. That was what was bad. And yet… I'm still worrying. Like I'd just jinxed it and things were only going to go down hill from here. I didn't like that. Why was I always worrying? Always scared for something? And yet, never for myself. I guess that's what's called unselfishness.

Jacob stopped the truck in front of Bella's dark house, cutting the engine so it was suddenly silent. He threw his other arm around Bella, crushing her against his cheat, binding her to him. I smiled. I liked it when they were together.

"Sorry. I know you don't feel exactly the way I do, Bella. I swear I don't mind. I'm just so

glad you're okay that I could sing – and that's something no one wants to hear." He laughed his throaty laugh

Jake pressed his warm cheek against the top of Bella's hair. He glanced at me for a second and I managed to smile a genuine smile at him. They'd both be better with each other. Bella had made Jake better after he phased and he'd basically fixed her when it seemed impossible.

Bella suddenly froze. Jacob felt her stiffen and released her automatically, reaching for the door. Storm-cooled air blew through the cab of the truck. I sat up. Something was wrong. What was that… I could smell something, something, familiar but also completely unfamiliar.

"OH!" The breath whooshed out of Jacob like someone had punched him in the gut. "Holy

crap!" he swore. He slammed the door and twisted the keys in the ignition at the same moment. His hands were shaking so hard I didn't know how he managed it.

Shaking? Why was he getting angry?

"What's wrong?" Bella asked. He revved the engine too fast; it sputtered and faltered.

"Vampire," he spit out.

"How do you know?" Bella wondered worried.

"Because I can smell it. Dammit!" Jacob's eyes were wild, raking the dark street. He barely seemed aware of the tremors that were rolling through his body.

Smell it? Was that what that was? I breathed in again. It was like a sweet smell. It wasn't bad, it almost smelt appealing, intoxicating. Almost. It wasn't a scent I recognised, so was that a good thing?

Jacob was freaking out, his body was shaking as he tried to keep a lid on his wolf. Bella was worrying as the colour drained from her face.

I sat there, the tears had stopped and I wiped my face of them. Jacob continued to try and get the truck going, but the old truck wouldn't start.

"Phase or get them out of here" he hissed at himself. He looked down at Bella for a split second and saw the horror in her eyes. He looked at me; I saw surprise as he saw the serious yet un-scared expression on my face. I wasn't scared. Like usual.

He scanned the street again.

"Right. Get you out." The engine caught with a roar. The tires squealed as he spun the truck around, turning towards our only escape. The headlights washed across the pavement, lit up the front line of the black forest and finally glinted off a parked car across the street from Bella's house.

I knew that car.

"Stop!" Bella gasped. Jacob didn't listen as Bella stared at the car. It was Carlisle's car.

"Stop." Bella cried again, louder this time because Jacob was gunning the truck down the street.

"What?!" he asked shocked.

"It's not Victoria. Stop, stop! I want to go back!" Bella admitted. Jacob stomped on the breaks so hard Bella and I almost smashed our heads on the dashboard.

"Jeez," I muttered

"What?" Jacob asked again, aghast. He was staring at Bella with horror in his eyes. He looked at me but I just sat and waited. I understood why she wanted to go back. I knew she wasn't in danger, I'd know that car anywhere; I'd been seeing it for the past three years.

"It's Carlisle's car! It's the Cullens. I know it!" Jacob watched Bella's face before a violent tremor rocked his frame.

"Hey, calm down, Jake. It's okay. No danger, see? Relax." Bella comforted him. I stayed silent. Why were they back here? What could have happened that… then I remembered. Alice.

Despite them leaving the Cullens' still cared about Bella, most of them did anyway. So if they knew something happened to her, wouldn't they care?

Bella had said something about Alice being able to see the future. If Alice was going to see Bella jump off of a cliff, wasn't that reason to come and find out what happened? Why she did it?

"Yeah, calm." Jacob panted, putting his head down and closing his eyes. While he concentrated on not exploding Bella turned and stared out the back window at the black Mercedes.

"There's a vampire in your house," Jacob hissed "And you want to go back?" Bella ripped her eyes from the black car.

"Of course." she answered, her voice bank with surprise at his question. Jacob's face hardened, congealing into the bitter mask he'd worn when he'd first phased. But before he could cover it up, I saw betrayal flashed across his eyes.

I looked between the two, waiting for this situation to get worse. With Jacob's temper and hatred for vampires, it was bound to do so. Bella wouldn't turn down the opportunity to see them.

Jacob's hands were still shaking as he took a deep breath.

"You're sure it's not a trick?" he asked slowly

"It's not a trick. It's Carlisle. Take me back." Bella ordered. A shudder rippled through Jacob's wide shoulders but his eyes were flat and emotionless.

"No." I stared at him in disbelief.

"Jake, it's okay —"

"No. Take yourself back Bella." His voice was harsh and Bella flinched back at his words. Jacob's jaw clenched and unclenched.

"Jake…" I muttered

"Look. I can't go back. Treaty or no treaty. That's my enemy in there."

"Says who?" I questioned. He turned his hard look to me but I just glared back at him.

"It's not like that —" Bella began again

"I have to tell Sam right away. This changes things. We can't be caught on their territory." He continued

"Jake this isn't a war!" Bella said seriously. He didn't listen. Jacob put the truck into neutral and jumped out of the door, leaving the engine running.

"Bye Bella." He called back over his shoulder "I really hope you don't die" he sprinted into the forest shaking so hard his shape seemed blurred.

"Jake!" I called after him. It was fine for him to listen to her and all, but I hadn't expected him to leave me here with her. Was he not supposed to protect his tribe? A tribe of which I belonged to.

I frowned. He must be really upset.

Bella was frozen for a minute by his words before she slid across to the driver's seat and put the truck back into drive. Her hands were shaking almost as hard as Jacob's had been. She carefully turned the truck around and drove back to her house.

It was very dark when Bella turned off the headlights. The porch lamp on Bella's house wasn't on. Bella sat in silence, staring at the house for a second before she looked at the black car.

Bella looked at me, suddenly remembering I was still here.

"I'll stay here." I promised with a smile. I knew how much they meant to her. Though I wasn't sure how I felt about her seeing them, she'd just be depressed again when they left for the second time.

Bella smiled at me before getting out of the car. She walked to the door and reached for the key above it, her hands still shaking. She turned the door handle and just stood there with the door wide open for a minute, before she stepped into the darkness and shut the door.

I let out a sigh. I _had_ jinxed myself when I asked if things could get any worse. They just did.

I sat in the car for a while in silence. I could walk home, but that would freak everyone out. Why had I been such a baby and insisted on coming to Bella's?

I realised I should probably tell someone where I was. Jacob would be to angry and upset with Bella, and the fact a Cullen was here, to remember he'd left me here. I could just imagine James sinking his teeth into Jacob for leaving his sister with a vampire.

It wasn't Jake's fault though.

I was sort of annoyed. This little incident, though little it was, had probably ruined everything. Sure Bella wasn't perfect but she was better, and Jacob's mask had come off when Bella found out. They helped each other. Now, it was all just going to get worse again. I couldn't even imagine how Bella was going to be once the Cullen left.

I looked at the house. Maybe I should go say hi… they knew me, just they didn't know I knew _about_ them.

No, I'd promised Bella I'd stay put. I don't want to ruin her moment.

I looked back at the house in time to see the door suddenly open and close so quickly and fluidly the no one would notice. It didn't even make a sound before I saw a white flash dart across the road and to the trees, away from Forks.

I knew they weren't leaving. They'd left the car behind. I got out of the truck and walked towards the front door of Bella's house, knocking on the door before walking in. Bella walked around the corner to see me. The second she saw me she looked guilty.

"It's okay." I said before she could apologise for forgetting me.

"Sorry." she muttered. I shook my head.

"So?" I wondered changing the topic

"It's Alice," she smiled. I hadn't seen that smiled in ages. I smiled back, happy to see it on her face.

"Where'd she go?" I wondered, pointing out the door as I shut it behind me.

"She needed to hunt, and she needed to get some clothes to make her stay look real." Bella explained. I smiled and nodded before silence dawned

"By the way Bella, sorry about Jake…" I admitted. She frowned and shook her head.

"It's my fault." She muttered "Do you need a lift home?" I shook my head

"You'll want to be here when Alice gets back." I smiled "I'll get James to come get me." I promised. She nodded but still looked responsible

"Night Bella." I gave her a hug before walking out the door.

"Hello?" my mother sobbed down the phone. I felt the tears coming back.

"Hey mum," I said softly

"Alexis? Where are you?" she asked

"Bella's. Do you think you could send James to come and get me?" I wondered.

"Absolutely sweetie. He's on his way." mum promised

"Car style, or wolf style?" I wondered. I was glad when I heard my mother chuckle.

"Wolf." she said. That was good, James couldn't actually legally drive.

"Thanks."

"No problem, honey." I hung up after that. It was good James was coming as a wolf, but also bad. It meant that, if he didn't know already, he'd find out Jacob left me here with a vampire.

I sighed. It's amazing how complicated my life is.

James turning up in a flash, taking no time at all. I saw him suddenly emerge from the trees before he immediately pulled me into a hug.

"Are you alright?" he questioned as he held me tight and looked around the street.

"I'm fine. Alice has gone to get some stuff and will be back soon." I explained "Anything else you want to know, I'll tell you later." I promised before removing myself from his arms and walking towards the trees.

James grumbled behind me and I knew he wasn't happy.

"It's not Jake's fault," I said simply

"The hell it's not!" he spat.

"It's not like I was actually in any danger," I shrugged. James was suddenly standing in front of me and I almost crashed into him as he moved so fast and silently. He had a serious, angry and worried expression on his face.

"You were less than a few metres away from a vampire!" he reminded me

"Who I've been going to school with for three years!" I shot back. He shut up. He didn't have an argument for that.

We reached the trees and James walked past me, his anger probably could have caused him to bash past me had I not been fragile and easily broken. I rolled my eyes at his immature behaviour as he phased somewhere in front of me. I walked around the trees to see the rusty red, fox coloured wolf. As usual when I 'rode' him I grabbed his shorts and hoisted myself up easily onto his back before he had the chance to squat down. I was getting better, quicker and more graceful at getting onto one of them.

I tucked James' shorts under my leg, weaved my fingers into his fur and held on before he launched himself forward. The wind combed through my hair as James sped for home, he didn't make a sound nor did I say a word. But I felt like he was arguing or shouting at someone through his mind.

When we reached the house I jumped off before James came to a complete stop, keeping my balance as I did, and dumped his shorts on the ground, not caring where they landed.

I walked into the house to be engulfed by my mother's hug.

"Oh Alexis..." she sobbed. I wrapped my arms around her to comfort her.

"Shhh," I hushed her "It's alright." I looked towards the corridor to see my dad standing there, his eyes were red too. I frowned, of course they were, he just lost one of his best friends. I felt my eyes well up again and the tears spilled over my lids. The sight of seeing my parents so sad was crushing. I'd never seen them so vulnerable like this before. My mother always seemed strong and brave while my dad, well he had the wolf gene running through his body and that explained it all. Sure he'd never phased but he didn't need to to be strong mentally.

Mum eventually raised her head and placed a hand on my cheek, wiping the tears away before giving me a small watery smile. I smiled back before she walked back over to my dad and the two disappeared up the stairs. I stood there for a few minutes before I sat down on the couch. James came and sat next to me.

"You alright?" he wondered

"Yeah." I muttered nodding. "James," I began "How's Jake?" James sighed

"He's pretty torn up about what happened with Bella. Feels sort of betrayed." James admitted. I nodded.

"What happened today? How come you lost her into the water?" I asked talking about Victoria.

"We don't choose where she goes." He reminded me

"But you said Sam said it was easy," I remembered "Wasn't all that passed down wisdom enough?" I wondered. He shook his head

"We assumed too much." he confessed

"But now you know not to do it again." I said looking at the bright side. He shrugged

"Might be a little difficult now, with the Cullen back we can't go on their land." James reminded me

"That doesn't matter. You know where she's going and Bella's safe. Alice will know when Victoria decides to go for her," I assured him, he sneered

"How can you have faith in that —?"

"Because Bella told me and Jake once that Alice can see the future. If that wasn't true then she wouldn't be here right now. I have enough faith to know Alice won't let anything hurt Bella." I confessed "It's the same thing that reminds me that you guys know what you're doing even though you've only killed one vampire so far." I teased. James rolled his eyes

"You couldn't do any better."

"I don't have what you have," I reminded him. He smirked at me

"Jealous?"

"What? That you explode into a huge dog?" I smirked back at him, he growled at me. I got up from my spot and jumped over the back of the couch away from him. James didn't lighten up as he got up to come after me.

"Come on, I was just kidding." I teased as I ran down the hallway. I knew I couldn't outrun him, but I was smaller and more flexible.

"You'll take it back all the same!" he decided as he followed me

"Make me!" I said before disappearing around the corner.

"Don't tempt me," he muttered

"To late." I called before running, rather quietly, up the stairs. James caught up with me by trapping me in my room. That lasted about half an hour before James decided I needed sleep. It was rather late and a lot had happened.

"I'm not going to sleep unless you do. You need it more then me." I reminded him. He rolled his eyes but complied.

I didn't sleep well that night.


	16. Chapter 16

Chapter 15:

The next morning I woke to a tapping sound. I groaned as another tap hit my window. Someone was throwing rocks at it. I buried my head under my pillow, trying to drown the noise out as I laid there. It was silent for a minute before there was another three taps.

"Jesus," I grumbled getting out of bed. I could hear the person muttering outside. "Back door." I ordered, knowing they could hear me.

I pulled my ugg boots on and silently walked down the stairs. Standing at the back door, was Jacob. He looked pretty guilty.

I opened the door and looked at him, he really did look guilty, regretful and betrayed. I was standing outside in the very early crisp morning air, only now did I realise it was way to early to be awake. I looked back at Jacob's expression, I couldn't even be bothered thinking about that when I saw it.

"Hey," I said sympathetically.

"Hey…" he muttered

"Jake —" I began

"Lex, I'm really sorry." He cut me off

"It's alright." I assured him walking down the steps to stand in front of him. The cold morning air didn't bother me as it brushed my hot skin.

He shook his head

"Hey, I'm not blaming you," I promised, he looked at me sorrowfully. We fell silent as we heard footsteps on the top floor of my house before they proceeded to the stairs. We both turned around as James walked towards the door and stood in the door frame.

"Well I am." he said, his hands were shaking. Great. He'd heard us.

"James…" I began

"He left you with a leech!" he reminded us both

"Am I harmed?" I questioned

"Not this time," James snarled. Jacob and I could both see where this was going as a tremor ran down his spin. I knew he'd be pissed.

"James, he was just upset, no one thinks clearly then." I reminded him, we didn't need this problem so early in the morning.

"Yeah, he's always 'just upset'." James spat as he walked down the stairs to stand just in front of Jacob. They were about the same ridiculous height so neither looking intimidating to the other.

Jacob glared at him and a tremor rippled through his body. I guess they were forgetting that I was standing right between them.

"You got a problem Westlake?" Jacob shot at James

"Yeah. I got a problem with you not caring about anyone but yourself and your precious little Bella!" James accused, Jacob's body began to shake violently as James insulted Bella "You could have gotten my sister, your best friend, killed and you didn't even give a shit!" James continued

"You didn't seem to give a shit about cutting her out!" Jacob said slowly and harshly. I looked at Jacob shocked, it was like Jacob was purposely trying to anger James. "It wasn't until she started snapping at you that you began to care!"

"How dare you!" James was trembling all over too now. I could feel the heat radiating off of the two of them. "At least I was actually worrying about my family and not about a girl who's never going to be into me." James hissed. I stared at him, my mouth open.

That did it. Jacob sucked in a breath through his teeth and growled, his body shook violently and I quickly backed out of the way just in time as Jacob ripped through his clothes and the russet wolf burst from his skin. James phased on the spot, also ripping his clothes as he lunged at Jacob. The snarling and growling was just as loud as it had been when Jacob and Paul had been at one another. I stood there staring as they rolled around the back yard. Their heavy paws carved skid marks into the ground.

I immediately knew this wasn't good. Last time there'd been a fight we'd been in the middle of no where, there was no one to disturb. But I had neighbours, this growling and snarling was bound to catch some sort of attention.

I heard running and turned around to see my parents running to the door

"What happened?" dad demanded

"James pushed Jacob to far and they both phased." I explained "Actually they both pushed each other too far." I corrected myself "We've got to do something before they draw a crowd." I thought. Dad nodded and he disappeared through the house to get the phone. No doubt he was going to find Sam.

I wasn't sure if it was accidental or if one of them heard me but the two wolves were moving more and more into the trees now, both were throwing the other to the ground. I swear, this might need a medic, even for the two wolves. Unlike last time were Jacob was just protecting Bella, this time both seemed to be out for blood.

I heard my mother sigh behind me and my dad's voice in the background as he called Emily's house, then the Clearwaters to find Sam. The growling was fading and I couldn't standing it anymore. I pushed past my mother, sprinting up the stairs and into my room. I changed in a flash and ran back to the back door again. I grabbed my runners which were at the door and yanked them on, doing the laces up in no time.

"What are you doing?" Mum asked me. I ignored her as I stood up, and ran into the trees after the wolves

"Alexis!" I heard my mother call, but I wasn't listening.

The snarling was easy to follow, though my nose was helping too. Somehow, I was catching up easily. The forest was in a reck because of the wolves; branches were broken, a tree or two had fallen over, the ground was turned up, bushes pulled from the ground. You didn't need good hearing or smell to follow them.

The two boys had managed to make it to a clearing, I broke through the trees in time to see Jacob throw James to the ground, but James was quick and turned the tides easily, causing the two to roll around for a bit.

This was making me angry, all this over a stupid little brawl. What the hell is wrong with them both, it was almost like they wanted the other to phase, like they wanted a fight.

I walked slowly and carefully through the clearing, I didn't need to get into the middle of it, that was suicide. But I couldn't let this go on. It was pointless. You'd think being able to hear each other's thoughts they would have settled it mentally instead of physically. Guess boys are stupid like that.

I took a deep breath and stopped as Jacob sunk his teeth into James' flank who let out a howl of pain before he bit Jacob's foreleg in return. Yep definitely going to need a medic, eventually someone's teeth would rip through the other if this continued.

I balled up my fists and inhaled deeply

"ENOUGH!" I shouted at the top of my lungs. My voice was louder then even the snarling from the two wolves. Both of them froze immediately, like my voice held some sort of command like Sam's. I'm pretty sure they were just surprised I followed them out here.

"You're both being stupid!" I insulted them. Both boys growled and me. My lips pulled back as I clenched my teeth

"Don't you dare growl at me!" I snarled, I could see I was intimidating. This must have looked funny to an outsider, a girl telling two giant wolves off, and them seeming scared of her.

I could hear the thundering of paws as several wolves ran towards us.

"You're both being absolutely idiotic! Do you not think?! Do you not have brains?" I raged "Does being a dog make you stupid?!" both snarled at me, obviously hurt by the insult.

I really wanted to punch them both, to break something. I couldn't believe my brother and best friend actually looked like they wanted to kill one another. They'd known each other since they were little and this is how they were acting? Like they hated one another.

The pack burst through the trees then, Sam in the lead and he growled so loud at the boys I almost had to cover my ears. Both of their ears laid back and their tails flopped.

I felt an arm around my waist and it held me to a warm body. I looked up to Embry, his eyes were glued on the two wolves as he held me protectively. Jared was standing on my other side, also as a human. The other four were still in their wolf forms.

"I'm fine." I promised

"They could have hurt you!" Embry reminded me

"But they didn't." I said seriously. Embry looked down at me

"If you're fine, then why are you eyes still gold?" he asked me. I scowled at him

"Just cause I'm fine doesn't mean I'm not angry." I admitted

"Well if you don't calm down they might stay that way," Embry warned. I huffed and looked back at Sam growling at the two wolves as they slowly cowered towards the ground under his voice.

Embry was right, I did need to clam down, but could you blame me for being angry? My brother and best friend had just threatened to rip each others throat's out.

I saw both the wolves look at me, looking guilty. Guess Sam reminded them that they could have almost killed me. Embry's hand tightened around me.

Sam made a growl and turned around, Paul, Jacob and James following him. He looked at Embry and Jared and they nodded. Jared ran off into the trees, Embry looked at me and hesitated but Sam's growl forced him to release me and follow Jared.

I stood and waited, I knew they wouldn't leave me out here, they'd want to make sure I got back safely. I was right when I saw Embry walking back at me as a wolf now.

He nudged my cheek with my nose.

"Thanks." I muttered, a little dryly. He began to crouch down but I reached up and grabbed the fur where his shoulders were before he could complete the gesture. I hauled myself up and sat waiting. Embry stood there for a second before he turned to walk towards the trees, only beginning to run once we were surrounded by them.

Embry didn't take me back home. He followed the scents of everyone else and headed for Emily's house. Or so I guessed anyway. He easily caught up with everyone else and I saw them glancing at me every now and then, especially Jacob and James. I kept my face plain, I'd calmed down enough for me to assume by eyes were back to normal again, but I was still annoyed.

We reached Emily's house and I jumped down before walking straight inside, not even looking back.

"Alexis, are you alright?" Emily asked as she wrapped her arms around me.

"I'm fine Em, I wasn't the one in the fight." I reminded her, a little acid leaking into my voice

"Your father said they'd phased while standing next to you…" Emily said. I sighed, of course he'd said that "… and that you'd run off after them"

"They did. I did," I nodded, Emily pulled me into a hug again. "I'm fine Em, it's alright." I promised her

"You've got to be more careful." she instructed me

"It wasn't my fault." I said annoyed. At the point boys came walking in behind me. James and Jacob came in last and walked straight up to me. I could see James was about to give me a hug and apologise while Jacob just frowned at me guiltily, I could see the words making their way to his mouth.

I glared at them both and James stopped short where he was.

"This is gonna be good," Paul muttered. I slowly turned my head and death glared the hell out of him. Paul's smile immediately vanished and he sunk further into his chair like he wanted to disappear into it.

I turned to look at the two foolish boys.

"Lex, we're really sorry." James began "We got carried away and you're right, we were stupid."

"We never meant for anyone to get hurt, we weren't thinking straight, we were foolish," Jacob added "Sorry Lexi." I stayed silent and this worried the two of them more then if I'd said anything.

"Not only could you have hurt me out of your own stupidity but you could have hurt each other over absolutely nothing." I said, I swear my voice was cold enough to ice the room, maybe even the property. "And then you would have regretted it for the rest of forever after one of you hurt the other, whether it was a big deal or not. I worry enough as it is when you go running off, even though I know you're capable of killing the bloodsucker." I'd obviously been hanging out with them to much "I don't need to worry about you killing each other as well!"

"Lex, you don't need to worry about us…" James began

"I can't fricking help it!" I hissed, like my growling it sounded like a genuine hiss. "It's like how Jacob worried about me doing gymnastics on the rings the other day, or how mum worries every time I drive somewhere. It's a natural instinct and it means I care!" my voice raised and the fierceness in it just continued to increase.

"I know you heal fast, I know you're strong, I know you are built for the vampire part. I know you're probably going to attack each other a lot out of annoyance, boredom or anger. Like what Jacob and Paul did the other week, that was fine. But this was not!" I said seriously. "Especially not over something so god damn pointless!" I shouted this time.

"Does being a werewolf mean you no longer have brains?! Are you as stupid as a dog is now or something?!" this time I offended everyone as I repeated the insult, Paul and Jared glared at me, Sam looked at Emily guilty, almost like he knew were I was coming from. James and Jacob looked both insulted and sorry. Embry was the only one who's expression stayed the same as Emily looked at me disappointedly. I shut my eyes and took a deep breath to calm myself down, when I looked back at the two boys they looked relieved. They knew I'd had my rant now.

"I already need to worry about the fact that _I'm _weird and no one knows why. I do not need to worry about you two ripping each other's throats out too." I finished. There was silence now.

"You know," Paul began, I looked at him "You're one freaky chick." he muttered

"Paul." Everyone grumbled

"Should I be taking that as a compliment?" I questioned, Embry smirked and I winked at him as I smiled.

"You can't stay angry for long can you?" Jared asked

"Depends," I shrugged

"On what?" Paul asked. I shrugged again, not telling.

"Well, I just finished making breakfast so who'd like some?" Emily asked

"That's a silly question Emily, we all do." I smiled at her, she rolled her eyes but smiled before walking into the kitchen. She placed the food on the table before giving me a separate plate.

We didn't stay much longer after that. Sam, Emily, Jacob, James and I were helping out the Clearwaters with Harry's funeral. Jared, Paul and Embry had been put on patrol for the next few hours. So I helped Emily clean up before I got ready to leave with James and Jacob.

"Actually Lexi, I need your help with something," Sam said before I could leave. I looked at him confused "Do you think you could come with me?" I looked at Jacob and James who shrugged before I looked at Sam and nodded slowly

"Sure…" I agreed. He seemed relieved that I accepted

"Thanks." he said. He kissed Emily and then walked over to me. Emily gave me a look as if to say good luck before Sam took my hand and lead me out of the house and into the trees. He let me go but kept walking so I stopped and waited. I heard the scuffling before Sam emerged as the huge black wolf.

I took a deep breath. I was determined to hoist myself onto Sam's huge form like I could with James and Embry so far. I jogged towards him before jumping a little and somehow reaching the right spot of his fur and pulling myself up. I smiled in accomplishment.

I held on extra tight, I knew Sam was really fast.

Sam took off and I swear he went from zero to three-hundred miles per hour. It was ridiculous how fast these boys could run, but the adrenalin was amazing and it was such a rush when I got the chance to go with them.

When Sam took off my seat didn't move and I stayed low to his back to avoid the low branches, my hands woven into his silky fur.

It wasn't long before Sam slowed to a stop. I jumped off, landing easily on my feet before walking a little ways off from him. I waited for him to change and tell me what was actually going on.

I took a deep breath. Immediately I knew were I was. We were near the Clearwaters' house. I didn't get it, why did Sam bring me here when I was planning on coming anyway?

I heard the scuffling and turned around to look at Sam confused.

"It's not what you think." he said before he walking through the trees. We weren't walking towards the house, more like around it.

I eventually smelt a scent that was getting closer, it was a wolf, but not one I knew. I knew it was a wolf because it was like the scent of a dog, but I didn't recognise it because the rest of the scent was unfamiliar to me.

Eventually I heard a growl and suddenly sitting at the base of a tree in front of me was a light grey wolf. Out of all six of the wolves it was the smallest one yet. It was also the shaggiest.

There was something about it's figure, it was different from the boys… just then I realised what it was. This wolf was a girl.

My eyes widened at this realisation and my brain began to work to put the facts together. There was a girl werewolf in front of me and we were near the Clearwater's house.

"Leah!" I exclaimed before anyone had the chance to say anything. The wolf stopped growling and looked at me both surprised and with curiosity while Sam looked at me surprised.

"Oh my god!" I muttered before walking towards her, Sam tried to reach for me to stop me from approaching her but I ducked out from under his hand, ignoring him. I crouched down in front of Leah.

"Are you alright?" I wondered, she cocked her to the side and her lips pulled back a little over her teeth. "Right. Stupid question, sorry." I realised waving the thought away. I turned to Sam

"What happened?" I asked, Sam frowned

"Leah phased yesterday morning…" he said. Yesterday… my mouth dropped and I looked at Leah with a sorry expression. Harry had his heart attack yesterday morning… was it because Leah had phased? The first girl ever to phase?

"Oh Leah…" I muttered, she snarled again, obviously she wasn't in the mood for sympathy.

"Fine," I grumbled and stood up "Be that way." I turned back to Sam

"If she phased yesterday, why is she still like this?" I questioned

"We haven't been able to get her to phase back."

"What do you mean?" I questioned confused

"She's not listening to us," Sam sighed

"Well what have you been saying to her?" I wondered

"The same I said to all the others." Sam confessed. I rolled my eyes

"Well there's your problem," I said. Sam looked at me confused "Sam, she's a girl, she's different to the boys. You need to approach it differently." I explained "Plus, no way is she going to change back in front of you and while everyone else is in her head."

"Well…" Sam began

"Okay, to change back it's all about feeling it and visualising it right?" I questioned, Sam nodded

"No way is she going to think about herself like that were everyone can see it and no way is she going to do that in front of any of you. She has some dignity." I explained. Sam seemed to understand now. He sighed.

"Go into the house and get her some clothes." I ordered, pointing in that direction. Sam looked at me and I nodded my head, giving him a look that said I wasn't kidding. He sighed and walked off, leaving me alone with Leah.

"Jeez they're useless," I grumbled "Why wasn't I told about this yesterday?" I turned to Leah.

"Growl at me if you want me to leave to," I said. She was silent "You want me to stay while you phase?" I wondered a little surprise. She shrugged. I guess that wasn't surprising, Leah and I had grown up together, she was like a big sister to me. But I hadn't seen her much since all this started happening. I sighed.

"Alright, tell me if any of the boys are there." I said, she growled "I'll take that as a yes," I muttered "Tell them to phase out for about five minutes." this time when she growled it was fiercer. I glared at her, but it wasn't Leah I was glaring at.

"Well they better phase," I said clenching my teeth. A minute passed and I took a step back as Leah stood up. I smiled as she shook herself.

"Right, as kinky as it sounds, changing back is all about will power." I shrugged "You need to believe in it!" I said in an overly dramatic voice. I looked at Leah in time to see her roll her eyes at me.

"What I'm just trying to lighten the mood," I shrugged with a smile. She huffed before she closed her eyes. It took her about a minute to phase back and soon the human version of Leah stood in front of me. I smiled and pulled my jacket off, handing it her her.

"Thanks." she said taking it. I shrugged

"Just until Sam get's close enough for me to retrieve your clothes from him." I admitted "It's not so much for the cold though," she looked at me before frowning

"What's going on?" she wondered. I looked at her a little surprised

"They didn't tell you anything?" I asked. She sighed

"They told me the legends were all true," she said annoyed

"Well there's you answer."

"But, why?"

"Alright." I thought for a second "There's this red headed vampire running around and she came through LaPush yesterday, it's her fault you changed. See you have a wolf gene in your body that reacted to the vampire's presence here. When the gene reacted you got a fever and it changed you." I tried to explained "Did that make any sense?" I wondered

"I guess," she thought it over "Why me though?"

"I actually have no idea." I confessed

"What do you mean?" she wondered hearing there was something behind my words. I sighed and placed my hands on her shoulders

"Leah, you're the first girl shifter _ever_!" I explained. She looked a me, not understanding

"How am I meant to know why _you _shifted when you're the first girl ever! The boys shift to 'protect the tribe', which I guess applies to you too but as for the over all 'why?' I have no idea." I confessed "Not gonna lie, finding out just now that you shifted was a huge surprise." I sighed.

"So what happens now?" Leah wondered. I didn't want answer that. I didn't want to be the one to tell her she is stuck with her ex-boyfriend who dumped her for her cousin. I didn't want to tell her he was the alpha and she _had _to listen to him no matter what. I didn't want to have tell her all the bad things that she could do nothing about. I sighed.

"You're not gonna like it," I muttered. She looked at me confused and annoyed that I said that and was about to retaliate when we both heard someone walking towards us.

It was Sam.

Leah moved to stand behind me.

"Wait here," I said before I jogged towards him. I jumped out from behind a tree, landed in front of him and he jumped. I smirked

"Didn't hear me coming?" I wondered, taking the clothes in his hands.

"Did you do it?"

"Yeah, she's human again." I nodded

"What did you tell her?"

"Why she phased." I shrugged "That it was a vampire's fault and she had a gene. But otherwise Sam, I don't know why. And I refuse to be the one to tell her everything. She'll hate it." I admitted. Sam sighed and nodded, knowing I was right.

"We'll be in in a minute so go wait for us at the house." I half ordered. His eyebrows furrowed "Don't argue with me." I said seriously. Sam just sighed and walked off again. I grinned, I was liking this kind of authority.

I turned around and walked back towards Leah. When she came into sight I handed her the clothes.

"Here," I said. She nodded

"Thanks."

"No problem," I said. It was the least I could do for what she's about to go through. Leah pulled the clothes on before giving me my jacket.

"Thanks," I said before draping it over my arm. I couldn't be bothered pulling it back on.

Leah pulled her hair out of her top and I remembered how all the boys had to get their hair cut after phasing. I remembered how shaggy Leah had been.

I frowned.

Leah saw it.

"What?" she asked

"I think they're gonna make you cut your hair," I muttered, she run her fingers through it confused

"Why?"

"Didn't you see how wooly you were. The longer this hair is, the longer your wolf fur is. It's why all the boys had to cut theirs off." I explained. She looked annoyed.

"No." she said stubbornly

"It's either that or you're one hairy wolf and that could get annoying, the fur will get snagged on everything."

"I'm not changing again." she said seriously

"I don't think you'll have a choice. Sam will either make you or you'll get really angry and do it unintentionally. Plus you'll want to do it again."

"Why?" she asked, I grinned

"Because of the speed. Leah they run so fast it's incredible," I confessed. She rolled her eyes and walked around me towards the house.

"It's probably the coolest part. That's including the incredibly hot bodies and the muscles and being really strong and having really good hearing and sight and smell and the rapid healing…" I babbled trying to convince her of the good stuff. "It's not as bad as it sounds." I confessed with a shrug.

"There's always a catch," Leah grumbled. I sighed, she had me there. "And they're usually a huge price to pay." Leah muttered. I didn't say any more after that.

There were a few cars parked outside Leah's house and I could hear the voices from within.

Leah suddenly froze and stopped walking. I guess she'd forgotten all about this while worrying about why she was a huge wolf. I placed my arm around her shoulders and guided her into the house. Surprisingly she let me.

I opened the front door, keeping a hand on her shoulder as I shut it behind us. We walked into the lounge room to find several people sitting around the coffee table.

Both my parents were there, James and Jacob were sitting either side of Seth who was sitting on the couch. Emily was sitting in an arm chair with Sam behind her. Sue was sitting in another arm chair and the coffee table was covered in papers. Sue's eyes were red and blotchy, the same with Seth's.

They all looked up at us when they heard us walk in and I heard all the chatter stop when the door closed. Sue got up and walked over to Leah, I released her and Sue pulled her into a hug.

"Leah, where have you been?" she questioned. I saw Leah tense. Shit, was Sue in on the secret? I know Harry had been but was Sue?

"She was at my house," I said suddenly. Everyone looked at me. I gave my parents and James a look before looking at Sam, mentally asking if she knew about the wolf thing.

"After yesterday she needed someone to talk to. Sorry for not telling you Sue, but… yesterday was sort of… hectic." I lied through my teeth when no one answered my mental question. Guess they just didn't get what I was asking.

Leah gave me a look

"Right?" I asked her. She nodded before turing back to Sue

"Sorry mum, I guess I needed a friend." she said softly.

"Oh sweetie. It's alright." Sue said, giving her another hug in order to comfort her. Sue's eyes began to fill with tears again.

I walked away from them as James gave me a look, I shrugged before kneeling in front of Seth on the floor. It was strange not seeing Seth smiling, he always had such a huge smile, it was like how Jacob had been before he'd phased, contagious.

I leaned forward and wrapped my arms around Seth, giving him as hug. He rested his head on my shoulder and I could feel him sobbing in my arms, though he didn't make any noise. I rubbed his back and just stayed silent. I hated seeing them all like this. They didn't deserve this.

"What was she thinking?" I heard Sam mutter so quietly under his breath that no one other then the wolves and I would be able to hear. I saw James and Jacob's eyes flicker to him before looking at me.

"I wasn't." I breathed out. They looked at me a little surprised. I didn't blame them, they wouldn't remember that my hearing had suddenly developed for the better.

I pulled back from Seth and placed a hand on his cheek, wiping away the tears.

"It's gonna be alright." I told him softly. Sure you'll never smile over a tragedy but you can accept it and remember the good times. "Celebrate his life, he wouldn't want you to be sad," I said rubbing his arm. He managed to nod at me before taking a deep breath. I squeezed his arm, that was when I realised something; Seth was really warm. He was like how Jake and James had been.

_"Uh oh," _I thought. If Leah had changed, maybe Seth will too. I gave Jacob a look which he noticed.

I stood up and walked around the couch. Jacob patted Seth's arm before he walked past me and grabbed my hand, dragging me with him out the back door.

"What's wrong with you?" he asked when we were far enough away that the 'normal' people couldn't hear us.

"Wow, harsh much," I grumbled, glaring at him. He sighed "I didn't know if Sue knew, I didn't want to say it out loud in case she didn't and I don't know if Seth knows either. It was safer just to lie." I explained.

"Why didn't you ask?" Jacob wondered

"How was I meant to do what?" I questioned

"You just answered Sam's question,"

"I didn't think of that then," I sneered annoyed. "It was a heat of the moment thing." Jacob just sighed and paced away from me.

"What was with the look?" he asked changing the topic

"Only the fact that Seth's boiling," I said, he looked at me. "It's the same that happened to you and James. Both your temperature's rose to about sixty or something before you got the fever. Seth's the same." I explained

"You mean…" I looked at him confused

"Dude, all the signs are there! How could _none_ of you notice? You've all been through it." I said confused. It was so obvious that Seth was going to phase too, how could he not see that?

Jacob sighed and ran a hand through his hair.

"Then it's going to happen while he's upset," he muttered

"Either that or it'll hold up till he's happy again and it'll get bottled up like it did with you." I added. He sighed, I could tell he didn't want Seth to go through that. I saw him shudder.

"Got any idea when?" he wondered

"I'm not psychic Jacob." I said, what a stupid question. He just sighed again.

"Seth?" we both turned towards the house as James spoke

"You know what, I take that back…" I said slowly "I think it's gonna happen now…" Jacob ran past me and into the house. I heard a crashing sound, a ripping sound and several gasps before I ran in through the door.

Sam was standing in front of Emily protectively, Leah was in front of her mother as an instinct, while my parents were standing on the opposite side of the coffee table with Jacob in front of them. James was standing with a hand on his arm, I could smell the blood before I could see it, it was trickling down his arm and through his fingers. James had been standing to close.

Standing on the couch — which now had rips in it and was covered in pieces of fabric — was a sandy coloured wolf, not much bigger then Leah had been. It was standing unsteadily on the couch, it's legs shaking as it looked at itself.

"James, are you alright?" I asked walking over to him and removing his hand. He had a long cut from his shoulder to his elbow. "Shit," I muttered

"I'm fine, it'll heal." he muttered before looking back at Seth. It was beginning to heal and the blood had already stopped. I looked at Seth, well if Sue didn't know before, she did now.

Seth whined as we all fell silent. Jacob, James and I all looked at Sam as Emily put a hand on his shoulder.

I sighed, it's amazing how so many things have happened in one day already, and it wasn't even mid day yet.

"Seth…" Sue muttered

"I think we'd better get him outside," I suggested. Sam hesitated and gave Emily a look, she nodded.

"I'm alright," she promised. Sam nodded and walked up to Seth.

"Come on Seth," he said and very hesitantly walked away from Emily. Seth looked down before looking at Sam and cocking his head to the side.

"Just like if you were walking on your hands and knees Seth," I said, understanding when he didn't move what was wrong. Seth hesitantly picked up one of his paws and dropped it down onto the ground before his hind ones followed naturally.

Sam opened the door wide enough and Seth eased through it.

"Lex…" Sam began

"Clothes." I nodded cutting him off. I walked away from James and up the stairs to Seth's room. I knew were it was having spent a lot of my child hood here.

I went to his chest of draws in the small room and rummaged through it till I found the necessities. I walked back down stairs to see Emily, Sue and my parents still in the room, the wolves had all retreated to help Seth, including Leah.

I walked out, after getting a smile from my mother as if to say good job or something. The wolves weren't immediately in the backyard, they'd retreated into the trees for some cover. I followed the scents until I found them about a mile in.

Jacob, Leah and Sam had all phased, both the black and russet wolf were facing the grey and sandy one while James stood there in his human form.

"What's going on?" I asked standing next to James. He looked at me then back at the house

"How did you find us?" he asked

"My nose is sharper, remember." I said tapping it before looking at the wolves, Sam and Leah were the only two who hadn't turned to look at me when I approached.

"Sam and Jacob are explaining everything to them both," James answered my question.

"Oh…" I muttered glancing at Leah. I didn't need to hear her thoughts to know she wasn't happy. She glanced at me and I saw the sadness, worry and annoyance in her eyes as she learned all she _had_ to go through.

I frowned. Poor Leah.

Sam's lip pulled back over one of his canine fangs and Leah looked back at him, her lips pulling back too. Neither of them growled, their bodies just reacted to their thoughts.

I sighed. This was not going to end well. I looked at James, he nodded, he knew what I was thinking and knew they were all going to be in hell now that they could hear _both _Sam and Leah's thoughts.

Leah was now going to know why Sam dumped her for Emily, and why he stopped talking to her when he first phased. I think it might have been better when she didn't know.

I was brought out of my thoughts when I realised they were all looking at me, except for James, he was looking between me and the four staring wolves.

"What?" I questioned confused, Seth looked at Jake, then back again. I scowled and sighed in annoyance. Stupid wolf telepathy.

I turned to suddenly realise James wasn't next to me anymore, I looked around but couldn't see him. Listening I heard a scuffle a little ways off. I looked at the wolves confused, they weren't looking at me anymore, they were talking, or thinking, again.

I turned as James stopped next to me, I raised an eyebrow.

"Seth and Leah were wondering why you were in on the secret," James explained

"Oh," I understood. "Cause I'm nosey." I answered with a smirk. James sighed

"That you are," I glared at him

"You're not meant to agree with me." I muttered annoyed. He grinned and put an arm around my shoulders

"You know I love you sis so it doesn't matter." he thought

"To you maybe," I said. He just continued to grin at me. I looked back at the wolves as one of them huffed.

Jacob come walking over to us and he looked down at me.

"What now?" I asked rolling my eyes. He nudged my shoulder lightly but I still had to step back to keep my balance. He nudged me two more times in the direction of the house.

"Jeez, alright, I'll leave." I grumbled getting the message. I handed James Seth's clothes and turned to walk away. I heard footsteps and Leah was walking next to me. I smirked as we walked back to the house.

We stopped about half way to the house for Leah to phase back and I grabbed her clothes were she'd hidden them in a tree hole.

"What's mum going to think?" Leah muttered as we walked slowly

"Well, she has grown up with the stories, so she might not be so surprised." I shrugged "But I'm guessing by your question she didn't already know,"

"Why would she know already?" Leah questioned

"Cause your dad did." I said softly. Leah stopped walking and looked at me a little surprised. "All of the council members know about it, Sam has to inform them of, everything." I explained "Didn't Sam just tell you that?"

"I guess he thought I'd already know, dad being on the council and he saying the council were in on everything…" Leah muttered. "I should have put it together naturally,"

"Can't blame you for not, I mean, you have had a few other things on your mind lately." I reminded her.

The house came into sight and we walked in to find everyone sitting around the couch. They stopped talking when we walked in.

"You alright?" I asked generally. Everyone nodded.

"Where are the boys?" my mum asked

"They're coming," I assured her. As I said that the four boys walked in through the door. They were silent.

Sam walked over to Emily who stood up and greeted him with a kiss. Leah pulled a grimace. James came and stood next to me.

"How's your arm?" I wondered

"All healed." he shrugged, I sighed, lucky wolves, they never have to worry about normal things again. Like freezing or infections or diseases.

"I'm really sorry," Seth said standing next to James

"Don't worry about it." James smiled "All healed," he showed Seth his arm "See." Seth still looked guilty.

"Don't worry Seth, you're not the first to do something like that, the boys purposely hurt each other constantly," I said, a little acid leaking into my voice.

"You're not gonna forget that are you?" James muttered

"No." I said seriously before turning away from him. I saw him roll his eyes out of the corner of my eye.

I stayed standing next to Leah as Sam, my dad, mum and Emily explained things, or clarified things. Turns out Sue didn't know, she was just suspicious. I was a little surprised Harry kept something like this from her, I mean, my dad didn't keep it from my mum. Next my dad did something unexpected; he asked Sue to take Harry's place on the council. She was hesitant but eventually agreed.

After all of the explaining, Sam took Leah aside to explain his actions when they broke up.

I sat back in the couch and let out a sigh.

"You alright?" Jacob wondered

"I am mentally exhausted," I said annoyed "Too many things happening at once."

"You can say that again." Jacob muttered.

A little while later Charlie turned up to help out. James and Jacob left half way through as they needed to change patrol times with Paul and Jared.

Charlie comforted Sue like there was no tomorrow and together, he, Sue and my parents planned Harry's funeral.

"How's Bella doing?" I asked Charlie just as he was leaving.

"Yeah, she's… well, she's happier then usual," Charlie admitted

"Alice's visit made her happy then," I muttered, Charlie nodded.

"You're worried about when she leaves aren't you?" Charlie asked me, I nodded. Charlie sighed and patted my shoulder "I'm sure it'll be alright."

"I hope so," I mumbled before Charlie left to get back home.

Mum and dad drove me, the sun had long set and the sky was covered in cloud, cutting out any possibility of moon light. The car ride was silent as we drove through the night.

I got home and walked up to my room, I guess I shouldn't have been surprised to find Jake there, the window wide open. I shut my door and crossed my arms over my chest. I didn't bother to ask him what was wrong, he knew I wouldn't speak until he gave me an explanation.

He stood up and walked over to me.

"I'm really sorry,"

"You said that." I nodded

"Then why are you still holding a grudge?"

"Do I look angry still?" I asked, he just looked at me. I could see his face in the darkness, it still looked guilty. "I can't stay angry with you for long." I reminded him.

"But I've never done something so stupid before." he confessed and looked down "I could have hurt you," he muttered

"Not as much as you already did, when you cut me out," I confessed "Plus, I'm the one who got out of the way before you could. I'm not an idiot and I knew it was heading in that direction from the beginning." I explained

"Just the thought that I…" Jacob sighed

"Jake. Please stop it." I said annoyed, he looked at me "I don't like seeing you all… sorrowful," I confessed "It's weird." Jake sighed. "Plus, James is just as much at fault." I reminded him. His expression didn't change, just softened a little.

"Now, what else did you want?" I asked sitting on my bed. He looked at me "Dude, I know when you've got something on your mind," I reminded him "Spill."

"It's Sam. He asked me to go to Bella's tomorrow, during the funeral when Charlie's not there," Jacob began

"Because…"

"Because of the bloodsucker. He wanted me to find out when they're leaving, if they're leaving, how many of them there are…"

"And you couldn't call because…"

"She's angry at me, probably wont pick up the phone." Jacob muttered. He sat down next to me

"Jacob, you're the one who's angry. She's feeling sorry that she hurt you like that." Jacob didn't seem to believe me and I rolled my eyes before huffing.

"Jared and Embry are going to come with me as everyone else is going to be at the funeral."

"And because they don't trust you to go on your own," I added. He shrugged. "Do I need to come with you to keep you in line?" I asked, he smirked

"Like you could,"

"I'm sorry, haven't you noticed how intimidating I am to you lot?" he looked at me

"What?"

"Every time I yell at any of you guys, and my eyes change colour, you all cower away from me," I said, trying to keep the grin off my face.

"No we don't." he said defensively.

"Yeah you do, Paul seems to do it the most though," I assured him.

"Him, you intimidate." Jacob admitted with a smirk.

"Good." I grinned. There was a howl off in the distance and Jacob sighed.

"Guess I'd better go now." Jacob decided

"Jake…" I started, he looked at me "Why did you come in through the window?" I asked, he shrugged

"Wasn't sure if you were still angry with me and wouldn't let me in." he confessed.

"That's immature," I muttered "I'm insulted you looked down on my so much." I crossed my arms. Jacob grinned and pulled me into a hug.

"What would I do without you?"

"Dunno, but it wouldn't be much," I smirked, he rolled his eyes and released me before heading back for the window.

I watched him jump from the second story and land easily on his feet before he sent me a wave and ran off into the trees, disappearing.

"Show off." I muttered, it was soon followed by a howl. I smirked, knowing he'd heard me.


	17. Chapter 17

Chapter 16:

The next morning mum brought a black dress into my room. She'd bought it especially for the funeral. I didn't like the thought of wearing black, sure funerals were sad, but you should celebrate a person's life, black sort of made that impossible.

I didn't put the dress on straight away, I was planning on running an errand before I went there.

I walked down the stairs quietly, managing to sneak past both my parents _and _James. When I was in the car I wondered if he was even home, there was no way I'd usually be able to get past those sharp ears.

I started up the car, my outfit on the back seat before I drove off towards Forks. On the way I passed Charlie's cruiser. I was glad he wasn't there.

I drove a little ways passed Bella's house, I didn't need the boys spying my car immediately when they got here.

I walked the little ways before knocking on Bella's front door. Bella answered.

"Hey," I smiled, she smiled at me and gave me a hug.

"What are you doing here?" she wondered

"I can't come and say hi?" I wondered, she rolled her eyes. I hadn't seen Bella act like this in a while. The house was covered in Alice's scent already, it was a beautiful smell, it held the sweet smell like meringue did.

"Of course you can," Bella said before stepping aside to let me in. I walked to the living room, I heard Alice's extremely quiet footsteps as she walked for the back door.

"It's alright Alice I know you're here," I smirked, she stopped as we turned the corner of the living room. She had her hand on the door knob.

"Trying to sneak off without saying hi?" I wondered. She sighed

"You caught me," she shrugged. I walked up to her and pulled her into a hug. Her skin was so much more icier then usual, but I guessed that was just because of _my _temperature. She pulled back almost immediately and looked worried. Her hand went to my forehead

"Alex, do you have a fever?" she questioned worried. I rolled my eyes

"If you get to comment on my temperature, I get to comment on yours." I decided. She didn't say anything more, but I could see her nose going and I knew she was testing to see if I smelled like the boys did.

"Uh, Alice…" Bella began, we both turned to her. "Lex knows," Alice looked at me completely stunned for a second.

"But…" she began, I shrugged

"Shit happens. Turns out my brother's a dog," I said. She chuckled her angel laugh.

"That explains the smell then,"

"I don't smell that bad…" I muttered

"No, but they do,"

"Funny, they said the same thing about you." I smirked, she shrugged. "And this brings me back to why I'm here," I turned to Bella and she looked at me confused "A few of the boys are on their way up,"

"Why?" Alice asked almost insulted

"Because of you," I sighed "They're coming to interrogate Bella." I rolled my eyes "Curtesy of Sam." Alice pulled a grimace "And they wouldn't let me come with them, obviously, forgetting the fact that I've spent, what? Three years?" I asked Alice, she shrugged

"More or less,"

"… with Alice at school and that she's not a danger to, anyone, but maybe them… and anyone that threatens her family, so them. So I snuck out to give you a heads up." I shrugged

"Thanks," Bella sighed, I smiled

"Aren't they going to be angry you're here then?" Alice wondered, I shrugged

"Who cares," I thought. Alice smirked at me and placed an arm around me

"I see you haven't changed,"

"Neither have you," I reminded her

"Well, that's cause I never do," she admitted. I smirked.

"I don't understand why they think you're a danger." Bella said to Alice.

"All their stupid legends tell them that all vampires are bad no matter what they eat. Naturally the only vampires they've encountered are Laurent and Victoria, both of which have tried to kill Bella and I, so they just hate all of you." I explained

"Victoria attacked you?" Alice asked

"Well… kinda, she threatened me but didn't hurt me, though she definitely had the chance too. And I was with Bella when we saw Laurent." I explained "That reminds me, please elaborate on what she meant when she said I smelt different," I begged Alice. She looked at me for a second before leaning forwards and sniffing me. I saw the confused look on her face grow as she smelled me a few more times.

"You do smell weird…?"

"Why?" I asked

"I don't know," Alice confessed confused

"Alright, then how weird?" I wondered.

"Well…" Alice sniffed again "You don't smell appealing,"

"Appealing?" I repeated, she nodded

"Bella smells delicious," I understood when she said that "You don't. You just smell… I don't know, not like food I guess." she tried to explain. "When ever Bella's close I have to hold my breath, but with you, your scent is just like smelling nice perfume."

"What kind of perfume?" I wondered

"French vanilla, lilic and rose are the strongest but there's a bit of orange in there too." Alice answered

"Wow," I muttered, who knew my scent would sound so good

"But why doesn't she smell 'appetising'?" Bella wondered. Alice looked at me and we both shrugged

"It wouldn't have something to do with the fact that my brother's a wolf would it?" I asked

"No, if so then you'd smell a bit like them," Alice thought. Alice and I paused as we heard the sound of Jacob's rabbit making it's way towards the house. Alice's expression was perplexed, almost worried. The car pulled over opposite Bella's house before the sound of a door opening and closing was heard. I listened to the sound as the feet carried them to the door before the doorbell rang.

"Hold on!" Bella shouted in the direction of the front door

"Bella," Alice said with a trace of frustration in her voice, "I have a fairly good guess who

that might be, and I think I'd better step out."

"Guess?" Bella echoed.

"If this is a repeat of my egregious lapse in foresight yesterday, then it's most likely Jacob

Black and his… friends."

"It's Jacob," I sighed. Bella stared at Alice

"You can't _see_ werewolves?" she realised, I looked at Alice surprised. She grimaced.

"So it would seem." She was obviously annoyed by this fact – very annoyed. The doorbell rang again – buzzing twice quickly and impatiently.

"You don't have go anywhere, Alice. You were here first." Bella said strongly. She laughed her silvery little laugh – it had a dark edge.

"Trust me – it wouldn't be a good idea to have me and Jacob Black in a room together."

"Can I come too please?" I said, I heard Jacob's breath hitch as I spoke. Alice looked at me and took my hand. She walked over to Bella and kissed her cheek swiftly before she dragged me to the back door and outside.

The doorbell rang again in the distance.

"Scared they're going to yell at you?"

"I'm not scared of them," I assured her with a shrug. "I'm just a distraction and I don't want to be yelled at." she smirked

"Fair enough." she said as we stood just inside the tree line. "So tell me, why didn't Victoria kill you?"

"I don't know, she said a few weird things, and when I met her I didn't know about you guys so I didn't know what she was. But she held me by the neck and said something about leverage and that she liked me because I wasn't scared of her and then three of the wolves turned up and she ran off."

"Why weren't you scared off her?" Alice wondered "Especially if she had you by the neck,"

"I don't know, turns out I'm strange, I'm not scared about my life or what ever. When Laurent turned up and threatened to kill Bella I instinctively stood between him and Bella."

"Why? Weren't you scared he'd kill you?" Alice questioned

"For some weird reason, no. You'd think having someone almost choke me, threaten to kill my friend and see giant wolves you'd be so terrified that you'd have to go to see a psychiatrist or something, but it didn't bother me." I confessed.

"You are strange," she smiled "Might have something to do with your scent,"

"Probably." I muttered. "But I haven't seen Victoria since then, so I don't know if I've lost my back bone. I'd say no cause I'm not worried about angering the wolves" she gapped at me

"They could kill you!" she warned

"So could you,"

"I'm not dangerous." she defended herself.

"If I smelled right you could be," she didn't argue this time but just narrowed her eyes. I shrugged

"That's not the point, they can't control their temper." she said

"They're getting better," I admitted.

"So how come you know? I thought they were all about secrets?" Alice wondered

"I'm nosey, I went and yelled at Jake and my brother, passed out in the process and when I came too by mind had pieced all the information together. I just knew. I grew up with the legends so I was bound to figure it out." I explained

"Why'd you pass out?" Alice questioned, I shrugged

"Something, happened to me when my temper got to high," I said

"What?" she asked

"Dunno," I sighed "But it's probably got something to do with why I smell weird."

"Hmm," Alice eyed me for a minute. I just left her think over the things I'd said as I heard the phone ring in Bella's house.

I looked back at Alice, she had a blank look on her face, and her eyes looked like they were looking far away, not at me. I didn't know why, but this bothered me. I stepped closer to her and placed my warm hands on her cheeks. She snapped out of it a few minutes later.

"What's wrong?" I asked

"I can…"

"I know that part," I assured her, talking about her visions. The look on Alice's face was struck with horror and worry. She pulled a phone out of her pocket and dialled a number. When I heard it pick up, someone asked in a language I didn't understand. Alice cursed.

She took my hand and dragged me into Bella's house.

"He didn't ask for you," Jacob said coldly. "He asked where Charlie was and I told him. I don't think I broke any rules of etiquette."

"You listen to me, Jacob Black—" Bella began. But she cut off before she could finish.

"Bye, Bells," he spit out, and I heard him wheel toward the front door.

"What is it?" Bella ran after him, only she crashed into the back of Jacob as he rocked back on his heels, cussing under his breath. He spun around again, knocking Bella sideways. She bobbled and fell to the floor, her legs tangled with his.

"Shoot, ow!" Bella protested as Jacob hurriedly jerked his legs free one at a time. Bella struggled to pull herself up as Jacob darted for the back door; he suddenly froze when he saw Alice and I as we'd just come in through the door. He looked at me horrified before looking at Alice holding my hand. But his eyes hit Alice and that look passed.

"Bella," Alice choked. Bella scrambled to her feet and lurched to our side. Alice's eyes were dazed and far away, her face drawn and whiter than bone. Her slim body trembled to an inner turmoil.

"Alice, what's wrong?" Bella cried. She put her hands on Alice face, trying to calm her. She looked at me

"I don't know, she zoned out and then dragged me in here." I explained, ignoring Jacob. Alice's eyes focused on Bella's abruptly, wide with pain.

"Edward," was all she whispered. Bella's legs suddenly crumpled from under her and she began to fall sideways. Jacob got to her before Alice could and held her before he called her name. I released Alice's hand and stood next to him as Jacob trembled.

"Couch." I ordered Jacob, he didn't argue with me and carried Bella to the couch in a flash and sat next to her on the cushions. I grabbed Alice's hand and pulled her with me after Jacob. Jacob held Bella's hand as he was swearing, swearing at Alice as I crouched next to Bella, between Jacob and Alice.

"What did you do to her?" Jacob demanded. Alice ignored him.

"Bella? Bella, snap out of it. We have to hurry." she said before walking towards Bella

"Stay back," Jacob warned.

"Jacob." I said, he looked at me and even I could hear the fierceness in my voice. His shaking didn't stop though

"Calm down, Jacob Black," Alice ordered. "You don't want to do that so close to her."

"I don't think I'll have any problem keeping my focus," he retorted

"Jake, calm down." I said. He looked at me and took a few deep breaths.

"Alice?" Bella spoke, her voice was weak. "What happened?" she asked

"I don't know," Alice suddenly wailed. "What is he thinking?!" I stood up

"Alice, what did you see?" I wondered. Alice didn't answer me as she pulled the small silver phone from her bag. Her fingers dialled the numbers so fast they were a blur.

"Rose, I need to talk to Carlisle now." Her voice whipped through the words.

_"He's not here"_ Rosalie answered

"Fine, as soon as he's back."

_"You could wait…"_

"No, I'll be on a plane. Look, have you heard anything from Edward?"

_"Yeah, when you left I tracked him down and I called him. I just told him…"_ Alice's expression grew more appalled every second. Her mouth opened into a little O of horror, and the phone shook in her hand.

"Why?" she gasped. "Why would you do that, Rosalie?"

_"Because you said Bella was dead and I thought he'd need to know."_ Rosalie answered This answer made Alice's jaw tighten in anger. Her eyes flashed and narrowed.

"Well, you're wrong on both counts, though, Rosalie, so that would be a problem, don't you

think?" she asked acidly.

_"Bella's fine?"_ Rosalie asked confused

"Yes, that's right. She's absolutely fine – I was wrong…"

_"How were you wrong?"_

"It's a long story… But you're wrong about that part, too, that's why I'm calling…"

_"But you said you saw her jump off a cliff?"_

"Yes, that's exactly what I saw."

_"Oh, Alice, I'm so sorry…" _Alice's voice was very hard and her lips were pulled back from her teeth.

"It's a bit late for that, Rose. Save your remorse for someone who believes it." Alice snapped the phone shut with a sharp twist of her fingers. Her eyes were tortured as she turned to face Bella.

"Alice," Bella blurted out quickly. "Alice, Carlisle is back, though. He called just before…" Alice stared at her blankly.

"How long ago?" she asked in a hollow voice.

"Half a minute before you showed up."

"What did he say?" Alice was really focused now, waiting for her answer.

"I didn't talk to him." Bella's eyes flickered to Jacob.

Oh god…

Alice turned her penetrating gaze on him. He flinched, but held his place next to Bella. He sat awkwardly, almost as if he were trying to shield Bella with his body. I glared at him, in no mood to deal with his stupid dislike for vampires.

"He asked for Charlie, and I told him Charlie wasn't here," Jacob muttered resentfully.

"Is that everything?" Alice demanded, her voice like ice.

"Then he hung up on me," Jacob spit back. A tremor rolled down his spine, shaking Bella with it.

"You told him Charlie was at the funeral," Bella reminded him. Alice jerked her head back toward Bella

"What were his exact words?"

"He said, 'He's not here,' and when Carlisle asked where Charlie was, Jacob said, 'At the

funeral.'" Bella answered. Alice moaned and sank to her knees.

"Alice?" I asked

"Tell me Alice," Bella whispered.

"That wasn't Carlisle on the phone," she said hopelessly.

"Are you calling me a liar?" Jacob snarled from beside Bella.

"Jacob!" I warned, he shied back a little. Alice ignored him, focusing on Bella's bewildered face.

"It was Edward." The words were just a choked whisper. "He thinks you're dead." Bella seemed to understand now.

"Rosalie told him I killed myself, didn't she?" Bella said, sighing as she relaxed.

"Yes," Alice admitted, her eyes flashing hard again. "In her defence, she did believe it. They rely on my sight far too much for something that works so imperfectly. But for her to track him down to tell him this! Didn't she realise… or care… ?" Her voice faded away in horror.

"And when Edward called here, he thought Jacob meant my funeral," Bella realised.

"Oh shit…" I understood as Bella's nails dug into Jacob's arm, but he didn't flinch. Alice looked at Bella strangely.

"You're not upset," she whispered.

"Well, it's really rotten timing, but it will all get straightened out. The next time he calls, someone will tell him… what… really…" Bella trailed off. Alice gaze strangled the words in her throat.

"Bella," Alice whispered. "Edward won't call again. He believed her."

"I. Don't. Understand." Bella's mouth framed each word in silence.

"He's going to Italy." Alice answered

"Italy?" I questioned, I didn't understand and I could tell by Jacob's face he didn't either. Bella's expression was another story though.

"NO!" The half-shrieked denial was so loud after the whispered words, it made us all jump. "No! No, no, no! He can't! He can't do that!"

"He made up his mind as soon as your friend confirmed that it was too late to save you."

"What's in Italy?" I questioned

"But he… he left! He didn't want me anymore! What difference does it make now? He knew I would die sometime!" Bella continued

"I don't think he ever planned to outlive you by long," Alice said quietly. Out live her?

"Wait…" I understood, Edward was planning on getting himself killed?! But how did a vampire do that to himself? None of the normal ways would work. And what was in Italy that could help this situation?

"How dare he!" Bella screamed. She was on her feet now, and Jacob rose uncertainly to put himself between Alice and Bella again. I grabbed Jacob the same time Bella pushed him

"Oh, get out of the way, Jacob!" she elbowed her way around his trembling body with desperate impatience. "What do we do?" she begged Alice. "Can't we call him? Can Carlisle?" Alice was shaking her head.

"That was the first thing I tried. He left his phone in a trash can in Rio – someone answered it…" she whispered.

"You said before we had to hurry. Hurry how? Let's do it, whatever it is!"

"Bella, I – I don't think I can ask you to…" She trailed off in indecision.

"Ask me!" Bella commanded. Alice put her hands on Bella's shoulders, holding her in place, her fingers flexing sporadically to emphasise her words.

"We may already be too late. I saw him going to the Volturi… and asking to die." they both cringed, and Bella's eyes filled with tears. "It all depends on what they choose. I can't see that till they make a decision.

"But if they say no, and they might – Aro is fond of Carlisle, and wouldn't want to offend him – Edward has a backup plan. They're very protective of their city. If Edward does

something to upset the peace, he thinks they'll act to stop him. And he's right. They will."

I hardly understood Alice's explanation but I took in every word trying to make sense of it all.

Bella stared at her with her jaw clenched in frustration.

"So if they agree to grant his favour, we're too late. If they say no, and he comes up with a

plan to offend them quickly enough, we're too late. If he gives into his more theatrical tendencies… we might have time."

"Let's go!" Bella ordered

"Listen, Bella! Whether we are in time or not, we will be in the heart of the Volturi city. I

will be considered his accomplice if he is successful. You will be a human who not only

knows too much, but also smells too good. There's a very good chance that they will

eliminate us all – though in your case it won't be punishment so much as dinnertime."

My mouth fell open. The heart of a city full of vampires?!

"This is what's keeping us here?" Bella asked in disbelief. "I'll go alone if you're afraid."

"I'm only afraid of getting you killed." Bella snorted in disgust.

"I almost get myself killed on a daily basis! Tell me what I need to do!"

"You write a note to Charlie. I'll call the airlines." Alice said

"Charlie," Bella gasped.

"That's alright…" I said, speaking for the first time in a while. They looked at me

"I'm not going to let anything happen to Charlie." Jacob's low voice was gruff and angry. "Screw the treaty." he decided. I smiled at his decision. Bella glanced up at him, and he scowled at her panicked expression.

"Hurry, Bella," Alice interrupted urgently. Bella didn't need to be told twice. She ran to the kitchen, and I heard her yank the drawers open and throw the contents all over the floor as she searched for a pen. Jacob disappeared from my side as Alice speed talked down the phone.

"Don't go," Jacob whispered. The anger was all gone now that Alice was in a separate room. Alice got off the phone and grabbed a bag that hadn't been touched yet.

"Please, please, please take care of Charlie," Bella said as she dashed back out to the front room.

"Get your wallet – you'll need ID. Please tell me you have a passport. I don't have time to

forge one." Alice hoped. Bella nodded and then raced up the stairs.

"Alice, what's the Volturi?" I questioned

"They're like the royal family of vampires, the government if you will. Edward's gone there because if he provokes them, they'll kill him." Alice said quickly

"But Edward left, why does he care if Bella's gone?" I wondered

"He left for her, what he said was a lie. He never stopped caring." Alice hissed quietly. "Before we left there was an incident and it forced Edward to make us all leave, he thought we were too dangerous for Bella to be around."

"Got that right." Jacob muttered

"Shut up," I growled at him before turning back to Alice, she stared at me bewildered and dropped the bad. Her hands were on my cheeks.

"Oh my god, your eyes!" he said as Jacob snarled at her touching me, I ignored him.

"Yeah, it happens a lot, just ignore it." I said.

"Wait, you're taking Bella into the heart of your kind?" Jacob growled, Alice looked away from me and glared up at him hard.

Bella came down the stairs as Jacob and Alice were locked in confrontation in front of the open door, standing so far apart you wouldn't assume at first that they were having a conversation.

Neither one seemed to notice Bella's noisy reappearance.

"You might control yourself on occasion, but these leeches you're taking her to —" Jacob furiously accused her.

"Yes. You're right, dog." Alice was snarling, too. "The Volturi are the very essence of our kind – they're the reason your hair stands on end when you smell me. They are the substance of your nightmares, the dread behind your instincts. I'm not unaware of that."

"And you take her to them like a bottle of wine for a party!" he shouted.

"You think she'd be better off if I left her here alone, with Victoria stalking her?"

"We can handle the redhead."

"Then why is she still hunting?" Jacob growled, and a shudder rippled through his torso. I stood in front of him and glared, knowing my eyes changed again

"Right now,_ she_ is much more safer then _you_ are." I said coldly talking about Alice. He didn't like that but I didn't even think about moving.

"Stop that!" Bella shouted at us, wild with impatience. "Argue when we get back, let's go!"

Alice turned for the car, disappearing in her haste. Bella hurried after her, pausing automatically to turn and lock the door.

I walked past her and to the car that Alice had started up

"Alice," I said she looked at me "Please, please, bring her back?"

"I'm not going to let anything happen to her." Alice promised. I nodded. "Why aren't you stopping her?" Alice asked me, looking at Bella and Jacob.

"Because I know I can't. I know her better then he does apparently. I know she will care about Edward for the rest of forever and if she can save him, she'll take it no matter what." I explained "Which is why I ask you to look after her,"

"I promise." Alice nodded. I leaned in through the window and have Alice a quick hug

"Call me when you're all out of trouble?" I half demanded. Alice nodded, another promise, before I stepped back from the car as Alice revved the engine.

I turned to look at Bella as she shook her head, tears spattering from her eyes with the sharp motion. Bella pulled her arm free from Jacob, and he didn't fight her.

"Don't die, Bella," he choked out. "Don't go. Don't." He put his big hand on the back of her hair, as if to hold her there.

"Bye, Jake." Bella pulled his hand from her hair, and kissed his palm. "Sorry," she whispered.

Then Bella spun and raced for the car. She came right up to me and I flung my arms around her.

"Be careful," I said "Please."

"I will. Look after him for me?" Bella asked

"Always," I said glancing at Jacob. The door on the passenger side was open and waiting, Bella jumped straight into it when I released her. She threw her backpack over the headrest and slammed the door behind her.

"Take care of Charlie!" Bella turned to shout out the window. I turned around, but Jacob was nowhere in sight.

I turned and waved at the car

"Good luck." I said. I was keeping my worry down, but I knew Alice would do all she could, and that was all I could hope for. Not only that but once Edward saw her, he'd risk his life to keep her alive, I mean, that was why he left, right?

Alice stomped on the gas and – with the tires screeching like human screams – spun them around to face the road.

I watched the car go until it was no longer in sight before turning around. I caught sight of a shred of white near the edge of the trees. A piece of a shoe.

I sighed, of course he'd run, of course he would. This was probably the worst thing that ever happened to him. And that was saying something.

I walked over to the rabbit where Jared and Embry were still sitting

"What are you doing here?" Embry hissed

"Shut up, I wasn't in any danger." I said annoyed

"You're supposed to be at the funeral," Embry reminded me

"So are you." I hissed at him. It annoyed me how the hisses were getting more and more realistic, like my growls.

"Where'd they go?" Jared asked changing to topic.

"You didn't hear?" I asked "Bella's gone to the heart of all vampires to save Edward."

"You didn't stop her?" Embry asked looked at where Jacob had vanished.

"I know Bella well enough that nothing I said would have stopped her!" I said seriously "Otherwise, I would have done something. Luckily for you though, I know those Cullens too, and they wont let anything harm her." I said annoyed. I turned away from the car, no longer wanting to talk to them. I felt like I could dint a car and Jacob had worked real hard on that car.

I walked up the road towards my car, ignoring Jared and Embry's calls as to where I was going. I got into the car and slammed the door behind me. I slammed it so hard, that the car window shattered.

I sat there, my mouth gapped open as I stared at the glass that had fallen over me.

"Shit…" I muttered. How the hell?

I shook my head, this wasn't my biggest problem. I put my keys into the ignition and turned the car on before spinning it around and driving off past the rabbit and down the street, not even glancing back.

I drove straight home, I couldn't deal with a funeral right now, I'm sure if I told Sue I couldn't handle it and I was sorry she'd understand. My parents, Leah and Seth, might be a little different, and James was likely to kill me for going to Bella's house instead.

I wondered if everyone knew what happened by now? If they knew about Edward and Bella. I wondered how guilty Jacob felt, was he blaming himself for this? It was his fault. If he had been more specific and hadn't let his anger get in the way, Edward wouldn't have thought Bella was dead and she wouldn't need to run off. Did he realise this? Was that one of the things he was so upset about?

I suddenly felt so bad for him. Every time he got close to her, and things seemed to be going right, something happened — usually involving a vampire — and they're torn apart again. I didn't know if there was someone to blame for this, do you blame Bella for loving Edward? Blame Edward for getting in the way? Blame Jacob for not controlling his temper? Why was this all so much more complicated then it needed to be?

I pulled into the driveway and was glad when I didn't see any cars there. Everyone was still out. I carefully got out of the car, minding the glass that clattered to the floor, before freezing. I looked at the house, someone was inside.

I took a deep breath in and realised immediately that it was James. Great. I got my lecture now. Of course he knew, he was probably on patrol knowing my luck. He would be at the Clearwaters' being respectful otherwise and wouldn't have been in his wolf form.

I walked to the front door and walked straight in. James was standing in the hall way, his arms crossed and an angry expression on his face.

"What were you thinking?" he said furiously the second I walked towards him. I just walked around him

"Shut up." I muttered

"Do you not realise how much danger you were in?"

"Shut up." I repeated as I walked into the kitchen

"You could have gotten yourself killed! Do you not realise that we are trying to protect you? That you could have ruined everything by your selfish actions…"

"JESUS CHRIST JAMES! SHUT THE FUCK UP!" I shouted. I slammed my hand down on the bench and he looked at me surprised.

"I was not in any fucking danger and I wasn't being selfish! I was looking out for people I care about! I was thinking that my stupid brother and his friends are absolutely thick headed and don't think straight! I was thinking about how they have a one track mind and suddenly believe every little piece of detail that is suddenly put into their fucking brains!" I yelled angrily. My fingers and teeth were throbbing with a familiar pain I'd felt while arguing with Jacob to go to the gym that day I used the rings.

"You have no idea what you're dealing with! You don't understand the danger…" I had clenched my teeth so hard I thought they might shatter.

"Don't you fucking dare!" I shouted interrupted him "I know everything you do!" I reminded him "I grew up with these stupid legends longer then you, I've known them for longer, Billy's told me everything, dad's told me everything, you, Jacob and Sam have told me everything! I'VE COME FACE TO FACE WITH A VAMPIRE AND ACTUALLY SPOKEN TO IT UNLIKE SOME PEOPLE!" I reminded him

"You haven't killed one…"

"KILLING ONE DOESN'T SUDDENLY MEAN YOU KNOW ABSOLUTELY EVERYTHING ABOUT THEM!" I my voice was so loud I bet people on the beach a few miles away could hear me. "DON'T THINK THAT KILLING ONE FUCKING VAMPIRE SUDDENLY MAKES YOU ALL HIGH AND FUCKING MIGHTY!" James was trembling now but I really didn't give a shit, the more he talked the more I wanted to snap his bones.

It seemed the boys weren't the only ones with anger issues, mine just hadn't physically broken to the surface yet, only verbally it had.

"You could have caused Jacob to break the treaty!" James yelled

"How the fucking hell could I do that?!" I questioned

"By being near one!"

"I'VE BEEN NEAR ONE FOR THE PAST THREE YEARS! AND I KNOW THAT VAMPIRE MORE THEN YOU EVER COULD!" James was shaking so hard that his hands were blurring.

"YOU AND YOUR STUPID DOG BROTHERS SHOULDN'T BE SO OUT OF CONTROL WITH YOUR ANGER AND THINK YOU NEED TO KILL EVERY LIVING CREATURE THAT CAN RUN AS FAST AS YOU CAN!" that comment about the dogs through him over the edge. His clothes ripped and I suddenly found myself crouched on the back of the couch behind James as he turned into the rusty-fox-coloured wolf.

He turned to growl, snarl and snap at me. My lips pulled back over my teeth but no sound came out as I clutched my teeth so tightly together my jaw was shaking.

James was so angry that he launched at me, the wolf side of him seemed to be completely taking over. I don't know how, but I managed to jump out of his way and his teeth clutched the spot where l had been as he ripped the couch. My feet hit the tiles lightly and James spun around, his tale hitting a table and knocking a lamp to the floor, it smashed. He'd knocked two stools over when he'd phased, braking one of them and the kitchen — and now some of the lounge room — was a mess.

I sneered at him and the sound that came out of my mouth vibrated in my throat unnaturally. But my mind seemed to be in a place were I didn't care, like everything that happened was natural.

James launched at me again, his paw flying out at me but I jumped out of the way and raced out the door. James smashed right through it, smashing the glass and sending it everywhere.

I glared at him before he launched at me, I ducked and slid under him before kicked a leg out that hit his side.

James went flying.

He crashed into a tree that cracked before he growled at me some more. I turned around and suddenly ran into the trees. It was strange, the trees sped past but nothing blurred.

I could hear James' snarls and growls as he chased after me, his paws thundering on the earth below him in a menacing way.

I jumped and grabbed a tree branch, spinning my way up onto the top of it. I stood up straight and crossed my arms, balancing on the tree branch easily.

James raced right underneath me. I was surprised, wasn't his nose supposed to know that I hadn't kept going.

I walked along the tree branch before jumping onto another one, then another, then another and finally hitting the ground. I turned and sprinted away to a destination I didn't know I was headed to.


	18. Chapter 18

Chapter 17:

I don't know why, but I suddenly found myself standing outside Emily's house. I didn't remember how I got here, sure I'd ran, but I didn't know my way to Emily's house through the trees, only by the roads. So how did I manage to get here? I didn't remember following anything…

I shook my head and walked inside. Sitting in the living room was Emily, Sam, Jared, Paul, Embry, Seth, Leah and Jacob. I guessed Jacob was explaining everything that had just happened to them. They all looked at me surprised.

"Wow…" Paul muttered

"What happened to you?" Jared wondered after a while of silence. I didn't understand what they meant, I walked over to the mirror Emily had hanging on the wall near me.

My face had a scratch, the same with my bare arms and there were leaves in my hair and attached to my clothes along with a few dirt stains. I did look like a mess.

My eyes were a beautiful molten gold. This was the first time I'd actually seen my eyes like this. I'd just gone on what the boys had told me. This was something I hadn't ever imagined. It wasn't the same as the Cullens. Theirs was like an amber gold, it was more orange, mine, they were a solid gold colour.

They were gorgeous.

I turned away from the mirror, shaking my head. I looked at them all, I'd noticed the serious expression on my face in the mirror and guessed it was still there.

Sam stood up, he seemed to suddenly realise something was wrong.

"Alexis," he said seriously, a bit of his alpha tone sinking into his voice "What happened?" I didn't even hesitate in my answer

"James attacked me." I said simply. Everyone was on their feet now, shocked.

"What?" Jacob asked confused

"I angered him… really angered him. We were arguing and he phased in the kitchen. It was like his anger had taken over him or something and he attacked me." I explained, I didn't puff, I didn't stutter, I just said it all straight. There was no hint of fear or worry in my voice.

"What do you mean you angered him?" Sam asked

"I shouted at him, accused him, insulted him…" I listed

"How the hell did you get here?" Jared questioned confused. I felt my expression change into a frown of confusion

"I ran." I confessed.

"You ran?" Paul questioned

"From… James," I said slowly, confused out of my mind "And… I won." they all just stared at me. I didn't blame them, I was totally confused. What ever it was I'd been feeling before, anger or rage, it drained away and was replaced with pure confusion.

I turned to look in the mirror, just in time to see my eyes turn back to their plain bluey grey.

"How the hell did you out run James?" Leah questioned, I didn't look at her, I just shrugged. I suddenly felt hands on my shoulders and I was forced to turn around. I looked up into Jacob's worried eyes.

I understood. He might have already lost one friend today, he didn't need to loose another.

"Are you harmed?" he questioned, both serious and worried. I shook my head

"He didn't touch me." I confessed

"How are you unharmed if he attacked you?" Jared questioned. I just frowned some more, I didn't understand what just happened. Though I didn't understand, I could remember vividly, nothing was blurred or hurried, including James' movements. It was all clear, like re-watching it on video.

I didn't understand.

Sam sighed

"Jared, Paul, go and find James. Calm him down and make him come back here." Sam ordered, his alpha tone very obvious. The two boys left without a second glance.

"Are you alright?" Emily asked, the worry saturated her voice. I nodded

"The only harm I have is a few cuts, on my cheek and arms." I admitted, I turned back to the mirror to look at my cheek and wipe away the tiny bit of blood there. The cut didn't sting as I'd expected it too.

But something else caught my attention. I clenched my fists and immediately stuffed both my hands into my pockets.

I turned back to Emily to smile, but it was a shaky smile.

Jacob guided me to the couch and sat me down, him on one side and Leah on the other. I guess they thought I was scared for Leah rubbed her hand on my thigh comfortingly while Jacob did the same to my arm. I just sat still and let them do so.

It wasn't long before I heard the sound of thudding paws approach the house and I turned my head slightly. Leah and Jacob both stopped rubbing while Sam left the room.

"We found him." Paul said

"Yeah, he was in a fit of rage." Jared muttered

"Can't blame him, you should hear the things she said to him," Paul said

"You were right, she is one scary chick," Jared now agreed.

I wasn't that scary… was I? Sure I shouted but come on, everyone does that and they're not intimidated by them.

"I'm sorry Sam." I heard James' voice

"It's not me you need to apologise to," he reminded him

"She's not going to want to see me," James thought

"You wont know till you try." Sam said, I heard him move and James sighed before walking into the house.

I listened to his footsteps before he stepped into my line of sight at the door frame. The look on his face was torture. He felt absolutely, positively, helpless for what he'd done and I could see all the possibilities at what could have happened, had I not managed to get out of the way, flash across his eyes.

I felt Jacob's hands tighten on my shoulder when he saw James. He wasn't only protecting me, he was also comforting me, like he thought I'd be scared of James.

I immediately removed myself from his arms, though he tried to keep me there, and threw my arms around James' neck. Everyone stopped frozen, surprised I'd just done that.

"I'm sorry," I muttered

"What?" Paul asked confused, James' arms were hovering as he debated on wrapping them around me.

"For angering you." I clarified.

"Freaky and weird." Jared mumbled to Paul who nodded. I ignored them. James' arms were suddenly around me, holding me tight.

"I'm so, so, so sorry," he said, I could hear the guilt and remorse in his voice, it almost sounded like he was holding back tears.

"It's alright…"

"It's not!" James interrupted me. He released me and I loosened my arms to look at him "I could have killed you. I tried to kill you." he reminded me

"I noticed," I nodded.

"How are you not terrified of me?!" he asked confused

"Because if I hadn't shouted at you like that, you wouldn't have phased in the first place." I said

"You're blaming yourself?" James asked shocked

"Course I am," I mumbled as though it was a stupid question.

"I just went out of my way to rip you to shreds and you're blaming yourself?" James sounded as though it wasn't possible. "Why aren't you terrified?" he asked again

"I don't get scared in life threatening situations, remember." I said

"But this one was different to the others," James thought

"How? First time I had a vampire pinned me to a tree and hold my throat, second time I had one threaten to kill my friend while I was there, standing between them. Now I just had you try to bite my head off. They're all life threatening, I don't really see the difference." I confessed

"The difference is, they only threatened it." James said "I enforced it!" his eyes were so sorrowful it made me want to cry and hold him some more, to comfort him.

"And yet I'm fine," I said truthfully "So the question is, are you alright?" I wondered. He seemed to think over that for a minute before he nodded.

"Sure? Cause you took a little long to answer there," I said in a lighter, less serious tone.

"I'm sure." unlike usual he didn't roll his eyes and smile at me, he continued to stay serious. I sighed, annoyed his reaction wasn't the one I wanted.

Silence dawned after that and no one spoke. James just looked at me while I stared back into his eyes, everyone else just looked between the two of us.

"James," I said softly "I'm fine." I said slowly putting a hand on his cheek comfortingly. "You can't change the past." he took a deep breath in and accepted my words, accepted that I was both right and alright.

"I have a question," Paul began. We all turned to him "How'd you outrun James?" everyone looked at me, all wanting an answer. I stared at Paul, racking my brain for some answer, for anything that could explain it. I couldn't find anything so I just shook my head.

"How'd you do all that stuff?" Jared asked next, everyone looked at him confused. Paul and Jared had been in James' head so they knew exactly what had transpired.

I shook my head again, still not having an answer.

"What stuff?" Leah questioned

"Um…" Jared didn't know how to explain it. He looked at Paul, who looked at James, who looked down at me. I shook my head for a third time.

I walked away from them and sat on the couch, bringing my knees to my chest and wrapping my arms around them confused. No one moved, they all just watched me for a second.

"What happened?" Seth questioned

"James, show us?" Sam both ordered and asked, James glanced at me, but I ignored him. I'm guessing he nodded because a second later they all left the room.

Emily came and sat next to me.

"Are you alright?" she asked again, rubbed my back. I nodded

"Just… very confused."

"What happened?" she wondered

"I dodged James." I summed simply, she looked confused "He lunged at me and threaten to bite me several times, he swung at me with his paws too, but I jumped out of the way. He just looked like a clumsy wolf breaking my parents kitchen." I explained "And then I went outside, and he smashed the back door's window, and… I ran away and outran him. I jumped into a tree and watched him run under me before I came here." Emily looked at me both surprised and confused.

"I don't understand what's going on. I hardly even remember thinking while it was happening. It was like instincts took over and I suddenly knew how to fend him off." I said staring at Emily's ever confused face. "Even my gymnast skills couldn't get me out of the way fast enough to have survived that. I don't understand how I was able to dodge him. He's supposed to be fast, he just seemed… normal — for a huge wolf in my kitchen, that is." I explained. She inhaled deeply before letting the air out slowly.

"Yeah…" I muttered with a nod "That's how I feel."

"How is this possible?" I heard Paul question as the voices got closer

"I don't know…"

"She's not one of us, and she's not one of them so how was she able to do all that?" Jared asked

"Do you think she knows?" Leah asked

"Doubt it, did you see her expression before?" James muttered, still upset over what he did.

"Do you think this has something to do with her eyes?" Seth wondered

"You know I can hear you. You can talk about this with me around." I grumbled. They all stopped talking. "I'd like to hear any explanation you've got too," Emily was looking at me confused. I guess she couldn't hear them.

I listened to the footsteps as everyone filed into the house. They all looked at bit awkward at the fact I'd caught them talking about me.

Everyone settled around the living room and the silence dawned.

"What's going on?" Emily wondered

"I heard them talking about me outside," I said, she looked confused

"I didn't hear anything?" she confirmed my thoughts. I nodded and everyone eyed me

"What?"

"How could you hear us but…?"

"Cause my hearing and smell's better too, remember." I said obviously.

"You know other then the fact she can't phase she's almost the exact same as us," Leah noticed

"'She' is sitting right here." I grumbled

"How?" Jared questioned

"Her temperature's really high, she growls, her senses are good, apparently she's fast now too. She has anger issues…" Leah listed

"No I don't," I muttered, they all looked at me, clearly not believing that.

"The only thing she has that we don't is that her eyes change." Leah finished

"I think I'm more flexible then you lot," I added

"That's cause you do gymnastics." James thought, I thought over that

"Gymnastics doesn't give me good reflexes," I realised and looked at Jacob. He knew immediately what I was talking about.

Everyone looked between us

"What happened?" James demanded

"The day Jacob took me to the gym, remember we were arguing?" James nodded "Well, I went on the rings that day, and I got distracted. I fell." James looked at me horrified.

"Jacob caught you?" Embry asked. I shook my head

"She spun her body around and landed on her feet before I had the chance to even intervene." Jacob said, still looking at me.

"But like the brawl James and I just had, it was an unconscious thing. I didn't mean to do it."

"What do you mean?" Sam questioned

"I didn't think, it was like my body had a mind of it's own." I tried to explain

"Instincts," Emily thought. I shrugged

"I guess, but I don't know where these instincts came from."

"When did all this begin?" Sam asked, I frowned, I didn't even need to think to know that answer

"The day I found out about you lot,"

"When you…"

"Collapsed." I nodded, finishing James' sentence.

"What did you say about that…?" Jacob wondered

"I felt like something inside me snapped, and something that was being stored away filled me from head to toe, all thanks to my sudden burst of anger."

"Why didn't you tell us this?" Embry wondered, I shrugged

"You didn't ask," everyone rolled their eyes at my answer. "Plus I thought you'd find out after I told both Jacob and James." I confessed. They all shook their heads.

"Well sorry." I muttered.

"So what happened?" Emily wondered, talking about the spit James and I had had.

"James phased and suddenly, Lex wasn't in front of him anymore, she was behind him. James was to busy phasing that he didn't see her move." Jacob began. Everyone looked at me and I shook my head

"I don't even remember moving," I confessed "I was just suddenly on the back of the couch."

"And then she jumped out of James' way when he snapped at her, she was fast." Jared said. I looked at him confused

"Fast?" I asked

"You were like the bloodsuckers," Embry admitted "That kind of fast." I gapped, I couldn't find my voice to ask what they were talking about in detail.

The memory of nothing being blurred flashed across my mind. Was that why nothing was blurred? Because I was moving at the same speed as James?

"I swear she looked faster then James," Jared put in. My eyes switched to now stare at Jared completely stunned. I hardly even blinked.

Faster? How the hell, could I, a normal human, be faster then a werewolf? A werewolf that could run next to a vampire who were unseeable when they moved. I didn't understand. I put my head into my hands, hiding behind my knees at the same time.

I shook my head.

"How?" I mumbled

"Then," Embry continued "She ran out the door and James smashed through the glass door to chase her, he jumped at her and she kicked him." there was silence

"So…?" Emily asked confused

"Lexi sent James flying." Leah's voice sounded. I could feel all eyes on me but I refused to look at any of them.

"Then she turned around and ran really fast, James followed her but she had disappeared and James had lost her." Sam finished.

I slowly raised my head to look at them all, they were waiting for me to tell them what happened next.

"I jumped into a tree," I muttered "And watched James run under me before I jumped across a few branches. Then I jumped out of the tree, hit the ground and ran here." I filled in the blank.

They were silent again.

"Hey, do you think you could do it again?" Jared questioned. I looked at him as it was a stupid question.

"I don't even know how I did it the first time!" I reminded him

"Only one way to find out," Jared shrugged.

"And how, may I ask, are you going to do that? I don't know how to do it." I questioned a little harshly.

Jared looked at me for a minute before he looked at Jacob, then James before his eyes finally rested on Sam.

Unlike the boys who seemed completely confused I understood within the second. I stood up outraged.

"Are you insane?!" I shouted at him, Jared held his hands up in peace.

"Chill, it was just an idea,"

"An idea that could get me killed!" I shouted. I think everyone understood now how Jared thought that getting someone to attack me was a smart idea.

"Well if you pulled the same stunt it wouldn't hurt you." Jared shrugged

"And if it was just a fluke I'd end up dead and you'd all be upset and angry. Especially at you for coming up with the stupid idea." I scolded "I can't believe the first idea you came up with was life threatening." I hissed at him

"I'm sorry Lex," Jared said slowly. I huffed and sat back down

"I know you've only known me for a few weeks but I don't think I've done anything worth killing me over." I grumbled

"Hey, it wasn't about killing you." Jared said defensively

"It was a comment that hadn't had much thought put to it." I sneered. He didn't argue with that.

"Maybe we could test it another way?" Leah suggested, I looked at her and she shrugged "Any ideas?" she asked around

"Well she hasn't done any of the physical stuff before but I'm sure we could test the other things easy." James thought

"That's not true," Embry interrupted, everyone looked at him "Remember when she first woke up after collapsing, she ran fast then too," James looked at me before remembering

"Has it happened any other times?" James asked me. I thought, times when I've suddenly moved fast…

"Well, there was when Paul and Jacob had that spit over Bella finding out." I remembered, I ran my fingers through my hair as I thought. "I think that's it, well, that I can remember." I confessed

"What's the connection?" Leah asked, I thought, thinking about each situation.

"The last two there was an adrenalin rush, the first was just random." I shrugged.

"Maybe you could do it if you tried now, instead of doing it accidentally," Jacob shrugged. I pictured me running awkwardly through the trees as it didn't work.

I sighed. I didn't like that idea. I didn't like the fact that we couldn't come up with a good idea on how to test me.

I remembered how James thought we could test the other things, like my senses for example…

I guess I'd just walk as far away from Emily's house until I couldn't hear them anymore… smell they could walk through the trees and I could follow. Sight we'd need to wait till it's dark I guess. I guess they're the only sense you could really test.

I was willing to test my balance, but that could have something to do with the balancing beam I'd spent my whole life practicing on, practicing how to be in control of my centre of gravity.

If I was going to see if I could run again then I was going to do that alone, I didn't need anyone watching me look like a fool.

I was suddenly brought out of my thoughts when something was placed in my mouth, I hadn't even realised it'd been open.

I looked up confused as Emily watched me. Only now did I realise she'd stuck a thermometer in my mouth.

"What are you doing?" I questioned, talking with the thermometer in.

"We're testing your temperature," Emily said "Weren't you listening?"

"No," I shook my head. Emily rolled her eyes at me before removing the thermometer. "We already tested my temperature." I admitted

"That was several weeks ago. We're just taking another look." Emily clarified. I huffed as she looked at the thermometer.

"What was your temperature?" she asked

"One-ten." I answered

"And James'?"

"One-oh-eight." I answered again.

"Well you're still at one-ten," Emily informed me

"Oh, so I'm hotter then the boys then," I smirked. Half of them rolled their eyes at me as I winked.

I stood up.

"Well, I'm sick of sitting around and doing nothing." I declared they looked at me a little confused. "Emily, James, will you come with me please?" I wondered

"What?" they both asked

"Actually Sam might want to come too," I muttered, I knew Sam wouldn't like Emily to be alone with what I was planning.

"Why?"

"I want to test something, and I can't do that without your help." I explained. "I need James and Emily to come with me while someone stands here at the house. I'm going to keep walking away from the house until I can no longer hear the person standing at the house. I need Emily so I know where I human can hear from and I need James so I know where a werewolf can hear from." I explained.

"You thought of that just now?" Jared asked

"I wasn't listening to you lot remember," I nodded "I thought Sam might want to come cause he wont want Emily alone." I added. Sam immediately agreed to my assumption.

"So, can we test it?" I wondered.

"Better then sitting here and doing nothing," Leah agreed "I'll talk to you as you walk away." she offered

"Awesome." I smirked. We all walked outside and Leah stood at the tree line.

"What do you want me to say?" Leah wondered

"I don't know, just talk to me. I'll… I don't know, shout or something when I can no longer hear you." I assured her. Leah nodded. "Just don't forget to talk normally, no shouting." I ordered. She nodded again.

Emily, Sam, James and I began to walk away from her then.

"Can you hear me?" she asked

"Yes." Emily and I answered.

"How about now?" Leah asked a minute or two later

"Yes." we both answered. There was silence but our footsteps.

"Now?" Leah wondered

"Yes." I answered

"Just." Emily said.

"Now?"

"Yes."

"No." Emily sighed.

"Right, you stop." I ordered her "Jared, I need you to measure how far away Emily is." I said normally

"Alright." I heard him agree. James and I turned and continued to walk.

"How about now?" Leah wondered

"Yes."

"Now?"

"Yes." her voice hadn't gotten softer yet.

"Now?"

"Yes." I looked at James, he nodded, he could still hear her too.

"Now?" Leah asked again

"Yes." we walked and repeated those two words over and over again before James stopped.

"I can't hear her." he said.

"Leah?" I called a little louder

"Yes?" she said normally. I smirked, so my hearing was better then James.

"Jared needs to measure to James now." my voice was louder, if James couldn't hear her, then she probably couldn't here me if I spoke normally.

"Alright." she answered. I turned from James but he caught my arm.

"I'll be alright," I assured him "You'll still be able to hear me." I reminded him.

James hesitated but eventually let go of my arm. I smiled before continuing to walk.

"Now?" Leah's voice was softer now.

"Just." I answered louder. I took a few more steps and never heard anything else.

I turned to see James standing a little ways off, watching me. I shook my head.

I raised my fingers to my mouth and blew. A loud whistle sounded through the trees.

A few seconds later all of the wolves, minus Emily who'd obviously gone back into the house, turned up. Jared was still measuring the space before he continued to measure it up to me. He was measuring by his sized steps, which were about three of mine.

"Emily was a quarter of the way, James was three and you were just under four." he explained.

"So my hearing's better." I smirked, rubbing it in.

"Why'd you whistle?" Leah asked, sounding annoyed

"Cause I knew you'd hear it and come running," I teased. She growled at me. "Sorry, couldn't resist." I admitted.

"What's next?" Jacob wondered. I tapped my nose.

"Smell. I want to do like…" I thought, how do I explain it, "I guess like a sectioned trail."

"What?" Paul questioned.

"Alright, I want to follow a scent and then I want you all to leave a trail for me and I want to see if I can follow it. But I don't want it to be just one trail, so the scent changes." I tried to explained

"Like relays?" Seth asked

"I guess that's a good way of putting it." I nodded

"You're not walking around here on your own." Sam decided.

"So someone can walk with me, but they cannot help me." I decided stubbornly. Sam nodded, agreeing to that.

Jacob was put with me and the boys all ran off in the same direction at first. I hope they'd split up later down the track.

"Alright," Jacob said "Go ahead." he allowed. I smiled.

I closed my eyes and took a deep breath in, I began walking immediately. Jacob walked behind me, as to not mess the scents up.

I followed the scents further and further, strangely confident in my nose until I found Seth.

"Am I the first you've caught up with?" he wondered

"Were you supposed to be?" I asked. Seth nodded "Awesome." I smirked. "Come on, I'm enjoying this." I confessed and pranced off along the next smell.

I noticed immediately that I was Leah's and I basically speed walked to catch up with her.

Seth and Jacob walked behind me and I ignored their whispers, having to much fun to care about what they were talking about.

"Leah." I sang when I caught a glimpse of her. "No one said I had an order to follow?" I smirked

"We decided it'd let us know if you went the right way or not." Leah shrugged, placing a hand around my shoulder. I smirked and continued on.

I found Jared and Paul easily. James tried to trick me by doubling back on one of his tracks. When I reached the split in the scent I noticed one was stronger then the other, though they had both been there for the same amount of time. So, to everyone's surprise, I took the weaker one and found James at the end. He looked at me annoyed.

"Nice try." I smirked when I saw him, my little 'posse' walking behind me, impressed.

Sam was the hardest to find. He'd laid little tricks everywhere but there was one thing that gave him away. The scent I needed to follow headed back to Emily's house.

"Sam, this is soo cheating," I said walking through the door. He smiled at me "And it also gave you away."

"How?"

"Well out of all the trails to choose from, the one that headed back to Emily was too obvious. I almost thought you'd done that one because it was so obvious, just to test me." I explained. He shrugged.

"You're pretty good, Lex." Jared confessed. He rubbed my head, instead of patting it, and I smiled. The gesture was a privilege and I enjoyed it.

That was when I realised something was wrong with me. I enjoyed being stroked on the head. I wasn't an animal.

That was when my phone went off and ruined the entire day.

"Alexis! Are you alright?! Where are you?!" my mother's worried voice sounded down the phone. I noticed the caller ID, it was from the house phone.

"Shit," I muttered moving the phone. I turned to James "We left the mess in the house and they've just gotten home." James backed away from me, like the phone would bite him. I wouldn't be surprised if it did with my mother's waiting outburst.

"I'm at Emily's, it's alright I'm fine. We're so sorry. James and I forgot to clean up the mess." I confessed. James glared and if looks could kill, I'd be six feet under in the second. He wasn't happy I'd brought him into to mix.

"What happened here?! It looks like someone broke in and trashed the place. Either that or a wolf went on a rampage." I could hear the hidden meaning behind her words. "Plus the drivers side window of your car is smashed?" I had to think about that while everyone looked confused.

I'd totally forgotten about the car.

"That was an accident. I slammed the door to hard…" I confessed

"Alexis! I want you home now!" she demanded. I flinched at her tone of voice. "Your bother too!" James shied away some more.

"Yes…" I said in a small voice. I heard her taking a breath and immediately hung up before she could say anything more.

Everyone looked at me.

"No matter what, we do not tell my parents about me!" I ordered, the serious tone in my voice was threatening and fierce.

Everyone nodded.

"What are you going to tell them happened then?" Seth wondered. I thought

"Well, we can't lie about James phasing, the evidence is everywhere. The only problem is, how did I get away…?" I thought

"What if someone else was with you?" Leah offered. I looked at her like she was a genius.

"Who doesn't have an alibi?!" I questioned.

"Well, we were all here, we'll cover for you." Jared shrugged, he looked at everyone else and most of them nodded.

"Why don't you want them to know?" Emily wondered

"They already need to deal with James being a werewolf, they don't need to worry about me being weird too." I explained. Emily seemed to understand that much.

"Jake?" I asked. He looked at me for a minute before he nodded. I beamed at him and pulled him into a hug. "Thanks." Jake smoothed my hair, I liked how that felt too.

"Right, let's go before she sends a hurricane." I said to James. He nodded, not wanting to go through anything like that.

I was walking towards the door when my phone went a second time. I groaned and pulled it out of my pocket again. I looked at the ID, expecting it to be my mother ready to yell at me for hanging up, but it wasn't.

I froze.

I turned to look at Jacob, he looked at me confused as I answered the phone and held it to my ear.

"Charlie?" I answered. Jacob's face crumpled and showed too much recognition. This morning's events had been completely forgotten until now.

"Alexis, please tell me you're with Bella?" Charlie sounded desperate.

"I'm so sorry Charlie, I'm not." I answered truthfully.

"She's not here! She left a message saying Edward was in trouble and that she'd be gone for a few days!" Charlie explained.

I looked at Jacob, do I lie? Do I tell him I wasn't there? Jacob walked towards me and took the phone.

"Charlie," he began

"Jacob, tell me you've seen her." Charlie begged.

"I saw her this morning." Jacob said in a hard voice "She and Alice left in a rush."

"Where'd they go?" Charlie demanded to know

"I don't now, sorry. But I think she's in trouble." Jacob admitted. I looked at him as it he was nuts. He can't tell Charlie!

"Did she give you a number or say when she'd be coming back?" Charlie asked desperately

"No." Jacob said darkly. "All I know is that she's with Alice Cullen." Jacob sneered her name.

I took the phone back before Jacob could make it any worse.

"Don't worry Charlie, I'm sure she's fine." I said comfortingly. Jacob grunted. I glared so hard at him that he shied away. "She'll be back soon." I managed to keep my voice straight though the worry was beginning to come back now.

"Thanks Alexis." Charlie said before the line suddenly went dead. I sighed before turning to Jacob.

"Are you fucking insane!" I accused him

"What —" he bang

"Did you need to worry the frickin guy any more 'I think she's in trouble'." I mimicked "Seriously!" I raged absolutely appalled by his behaviour. "You're absolutely, positively stupid and a terrible friend!" I shouted at him. He glared at me

"How is that terrible?"

"You really think Bella wanted Charlie to worry like that?! You really think she wanted him to know she might be in trouble?!"

"She could have not left!"

"Right, cause she'd fucking do that! She loves the guy remember and nothing you ever say or do is going to fucking change that!" I yelled so loudly Seth covered one of his ears.

Jacob began to tremor and shake more violently then both James and Paul had. This news really hurt and he didn't want to hear it. But I was so angry by his behaviour that I just had to hurt him in some way. I regretted it now.

I didn't let this show in my face as I turned away from him and walked out of the house in a fit of rage.

"I thought you were rooting for us?!" Jacob shouted having followed me out.

"I was!" I shouted spinning back to face him, my eyes basically glowing gold with my anger and my fingers and teeth hurt again. "Until you messed it all up!"

"How did I mess up?!" Jacob asked

"IT'S YOUR FAULT SHE HAD TO LEAVE!" I suddenly burst out. "IF YOU HAD BEEN MORE FUCKING SPECIFIC WHEN TELLING EDWARD CHARLIE WAS AT A FUNERAL HE WOULDN'T HAVE GONE TO GO FUCKING KILL HIMSELF AND YOU WOULD STILL HAVE HER! IT'S ALL YOUR FAULT!" I accused. Jacob just stared at me surprised I'd just said something so awful.

"Remind me never to piss her off!" Jared muttered behind Jacob.

I took Jacob's silence as an opportunity to escape before I hurt him some more. So I turned and walked swiftly into the trees. Thanks to todays tests I knew when they could no longer hear me anymore. At that point I just began to run. I needed to get away, I needed to make sure they couldn't follow me. Though I didn't have much high hopes, you couldn't really run away from werewolves.

It took me a few seconds to realise something was different. I stopped running and looked around. I was already near home… How'd I reach here so quickly?

It hit me like a tone of bricks. I'd ran. I'd actually ran fast. Jared was right, I could do it.

I looked down at my feet, bouncing on the balls of my feet for a second before I ran forwards. This time, I kept a close eye on where I was going. The trees rushed past me, like when I was on the back of one of the boys, but the trees didn't blur, I saw everything so clearly.

It was strange, I'd never seen things like this before. I could hardly feel the wind on my face, like I was running faster then the wind.

It was incredible.

I suddenly realised I was getting close to home and slowed down. I managed to stop just outside of our house, concealed by the trees still.

I stood there in silence for a while, just thinking over what had just happened, had I only done it because I was angry, as an adrenalin rush? Or could I actually do it when ever?

I looked back in the direction I'd come from, I guess I'd test it out later.

I looked back towards the house. I could hear my parents talking, worried about what had happened to the house. I bit my lip. Jacob had said he'd cover for me and say he'd been there to protect me when James had phased, but after that fight, I wasn't sure if he'd still do it…

I took a deep breath and walked out of the trees, walking to the house. The glass was still broken, obviously, so instead of opening the door I just walked through the hole. Mum had already cleaned up the glass so I didn't need to worry about that.

My mother was cleaning up the kitchen, the stools that had fallen over had been removed but the ripped couch was still there, it had just been cleaned up a little.

This was when I noticed the kitchen bench, there was a huge crack in it. No, not a crack, a dent. It was like something had smashed into it to make a smashed pattern like glass does when you hit it too fast for it to break, like when a bullet goes through it in the movies and it makes that cracked effect.

This crack however, looked like something had hit it.

"Alexis!" I turned just in time for my mother to pull me into a hug. She was acting as if I'd just been killed. Guess that's what it looked like.

"Mum, I'm fine." I mumbled.

"What happened here?!" she demanded to know. I sighed, should have seen this coming.

"I pissed James off." I admitted

"Why?!" she asked both worried and disapprovingly.

"I was angry, and he was accusing me of things." I confessed

"How on earth did you get away?" Dad asked as he looked at me "Unscratched?"

"Jacob was with us. He looked after me." I lied, not even blinking as I did. Mum let out a sigh of relief.

"Thank god for Jake," she muttered.

"Onto other matters. Where have you been?" dad asked me, now talking about the funeral.

This was another matter, did I tell them I was with Bella or tell them my lie for Sue, that I couldn't do it…?

I didn't know if Bella, or now Jacob, would dob on me for lying though… accidentally maybe but still…

"I couldn't do it," I sighed. I guess as long as I don't say where I was then it wasn't really lying. I actually didn't feel one hundred percent up to it.

"What do you mean?" Mum asked, now concerned that I'd been too upset. I was a little surprised at how gullible they could sometimes be.

"It was to sad, and I know I should have gone for Sue, and Leah, and Seth, but I just couldn't. Sorry Mum," I muttered, making it all up on the spot.

Mum brushed my hair out of the way and tucked it behind my ear.

"That's alright." she said. "Though it's not me you need to be apologising too." she reminded me. I sighed.

I'd always wondered, where I'd inherited by ability to know when someone is lying to me, neither one of my parents seemed to be able to do it, and if they did, they didn't admit it. Of course that just brought up the question of how I could do it in the first place. I didn't know why, but I just knew, it wasn't an expression they made, it wasn't thanks to science saying that some people look the the left when they're lying, I just knew.

How is that possible?

Is it part of all these weird things that are happening to me? It couldn't be, because I'd been able to pick out a lie since I was around five. Not after just a few weeks ago.

"By the way," my father began "Charlie called." he looked at me expectingly. I sighed

"Yeah, he called me to." I admitted

"So you don't know anything?" he asked me. I shook my head.

Another lie.

"Jacob saw her this morning though, said she took off with Alice in a hurry." I confessed.

"Bella wrote a note saying Edward was in trouble," dad was still waiting for some sort of information I wasn't going to give him.

"I guess that'd make her go running off," I frowned.

I didn't feel like getting questioned anymore, so I walked around them both and headed up the stairs. I'd expected them to call after me, to question me on something else, but they didn't.

When I got to the top of the stairs, I looked back down to make sure they weren't watching me before I took a deep breath. I ran forwards and got to my room in a heart beat.

"So it's not an adrenalin thing…" I muttered.

I shut my door behind me before walking quickly to the window and slamming that shut too. I didn't need any unexpected visitors.

I dropped down on my bed.

Now the question was, was I going to tell the wolves? I didn't see why not, it'd give Jared the satisfaction he was looking for today… but, maybe I'll keep it to myself for a while first. Play around with my new speed for a while first. Then I'll tell them.


	19. Chapter 19

Chapter 18:

It rained for the next two days. Jacob didn't talk to me at all, but that was to be expected, so I just let it go. It was my fault for snapping like that, I mean if I was a werewolf, I'd have probably phased and ripped his face off, well if he hadn't done the same to me first.

"He still mad with me?" I asked James when he came home

"Course his is. He's also really upset about Bella though, and you're accusations didn't help." He'd answered me.

I didn't even bother to argue, I knew that was the truth.

The day after Bella left, Victoria paid another visit. I'd been lying around in my room, alone, completely bored when I'd heard the howl. I was able to recognise which howl belonged to who now. This one had been Seth's followed by Sam's alpha howl.

I knew it was Victoria because eight howls echoed Sam's. Victoria was the only reason for all wolves to be phased for such a call as demanding and serious as that.

I'd also noticed that 'normal' people couldn't hear the wolves howl, which was strange because I heard it as though it was being sounded through a sound system. It sounded too loud to be conspicuous but, I didn't question it yet, they were too busy vampire chasing for me to ask.

I'd actually been tempted to go into the trees and watch them, seeing as I could run fast now, but I knew that was stupid and they'd kill me for it, especially seeing as they'd be able to smell me… all of them.

I still hadn't told them about that. About my speed. I'd only used it when I was alone. Testing it out. I'd timed how long it took me to get to the beach — when I knew none of the boys would catch me — and it took me less then ten seconds. That wasn't bad for about a five - ten minute walk.

Today however, I was planning on doing something a little more riskier. Well, a lot more riskier. I knew the boys patrol routes, so I knew where to stay _away _from.

I was going to climb a tree and test out, one, my balance, and two, what had happened when I'd fallen out of the rings.

Dangerous, and stupid.

I felt like Bella.

I wasn't trying to break anything, and I knew I should tell at least one of the wolves so that they could be there to catch me if it went wrong, but, I wanted to do this on my own.

I didn't know why, it just felt more special if I figured it out alone. If I did tell a wolf it would be Leah, but they all share their minds together and the whole secret bit, wouldn't last long.

So after James had left, I took my phone put on a good pair of runners and a pair of leather like gloves — already wearing practical clothes — and ran through the trees, making sure to avoid any path the boys might take.

I don't know why but I was being especially picky about the type of tree I wanted to climb. Every now and then I stopped and looked up, examining the trees around before taking off again.

I wasn't sure if I wanted a tall one, or bulky one, or one without many branches at the bottom — which was stupid as I wouldn't be able to climb it if that was so — or one of all three.

Eventually I saw one I liked.

I interlocked my fingers and pushed out my hands, stretching my fingers before I grabbed the lowest branch and swung myself up onto it. My gymnastic skills came in handy here, they allowed me to swing from branch to branch.

Though there was something else, my balance was definitely better but I felt like I had absolute confidence in my reflexes and my body. It was weird. I felt light. Like gravity was no longer acting on me.

I grabbed a branch and swung around it until my feet hit touch down on the same branch.

I stayed crouched there and looked down. I was a fair way up the tree. There wasn't many branches in the way below me.

I looked back at where my hands supported me on the branch. I took a deep breath and released my hands, slowly raising them away from the branch.

I didn't wobble, I didn't go to replace my hands back on the branch, my feet were positioned well and I was perfectly balanced. Despite the fact that being a gymnast I was used to balancing, I'd never felt this secure on something round before, especially not something as rough and unsteady as a tree branch.

After I was positive I wouldn't fall, I slowly began to stand up. Usually I'd expect my legs to be shaky and threatening to betray me and cause me to fall. They weren't. I really was perfectly balanced in every sense of the word.

Once I was standing straight I stood there, still for a minute before I did the next bold move. I stepped forwards.

My arms were immediately out to my sides as to steady me, but I didn't need it. I took another step, it was like walking on flat ground. Normal.

I lowered my arms and took a few more steps, at this point I'd reached the limit that I could go forwards so I went backwards.

I stepped backwards, just as balanced as before, though this time I was more confident about my balance.

Finally I was able to walk forwards _and_ backwards with complete confidence and a little more speed.

Now came the scary and much more dangerous part.

I looked down.

I could either jump, or fall…

My heart began to race and I had to sit down on the branch.

"What if this doesn't work…?" I questioned. This could be my last day ever, and it would have happened because of my own dimwitted stupidity.

I looked back down again. If I was too close to the ground this wouldn't work so I couldn't go any closer to the earth.

I really did need one of the wolves. I couldn't do this alone. I needed someone to catch me, incase it went wrong.

Or I could just… not do it…?

No I couldn't give up. If I did that then I'd never find out what had happened until I accidentally fell again, and that wasn't likely to happen soon. If I knew I could land on my feet every time I fell then I'd feel much better.

But to do that, I'd have to jump.

It's not like it hadn't happened before… though it was only once and it sort of was a fluke…

I could run super fast, this isn't much different… only it's life threatening this time. But so was when James attacked me, and I wasn't scared then…

How can I get rid of this annoying fear? All I'm doing right now is procrastinating!

I gritted my teeth and stood back up again.

I'll be fine!

I can do this!

But in order to do so, I couldn't jump feet first, that would defeat the purpose.

I shut my eyes and took deep breaths, calming my heart and calming myself. Ignoring the voice that was telling me this was a seriously stupid idea. Ignoring the rational part that said this would kill me.

Listening to the part that said this height was nothing.

Listening to the part that let me run.

Listening to the confident part in me.

The part that had been released that day.

The part that had been stored away, and now wanted it's time to shine.

I felt the wind around me, brushing through my hair and whipping at my back as air resistance tried to slow me down.

My feet had left the safety of the branch and a few branches scratched my jacket around my arms.

I opened my eyes and looked up at the sky as the tree got higher and higher. The clouds further and further away.

Then, I felt the part of my brain that had been sealed, take over. I instinctively began to turn my body in a fluid and graceful manner and I looked for the ground that slowly came into my view.

My feet hit the ground lightly, and it was all over, all in a matter of seconds.

I straightened up, removing my hand from the earth and looked at the glove covered in dirt and bark. I flexed my fingers, they were fine. I bent my knees, they were fine. I wriggled my toes, they were fine too.

I reached my hands upwards and stretched. Everything was in perfect working order.

I _was_ fine.

And it was not really any different from cliff diving, only death was usually a lot more certain with the hard ground below.

I felt the grin pull at my mouth.

Falling was exhilarating. It was an adrenalin rush. It was exciting.

I wanted to do it again.

I shook my head, one almost-death-experience was enough for one day. If the wolves ever found out they'd be pissed enough I did it once, let alone twice.

Though, it wasn't their job to look after me… personally. Sure I was family, and sure I was from LaPush and they were obliged to look after the tribe, but obviously, I didn't need looking after any more. Plus, I was the one who did all the looking after. I'd been looking after James for years, and it felt weird to have him look after me now.

I looked at the watch on my wrist. It was almost lunch time. Emily's cooking sounded great right about now.

I thought, what was the best way to Emily's house _without_ getting caught?

Probably to double back over my track towards home and then to head to Emily's.

I pulled my phone out of my pocket and found the timer on it.

I got ready and as soon as my finger hit start I raced off on my planned route.

I hit stop the second I stood not a metre from Emily's door. Twenty seconds thanks to the detour.

That wasn't a bad time.

I erased it before skipping inside.

"Hey!" I greeted cheerfully. Emily, Sam, Seth, Leah, Paul and Embry were all sitting in the living room.

"Where'd you come from?" Leah questioned

"Home," I smirked.

"You didn't walk _again_ did you?" Embry sighed

"Did you hear a car?" I questioned. Embry just groaned.

I walked over to the couch and sat between Leah and Seth. Embry was sitting on one arm chair, Sam and Emily on another and Paul was lounging on the floor.

"So, what are you up to?" I wondered

"Not much…" Leah said, I could hear the suspicion in her voice. I looked at her

"What?" I asked

"What's up with you?" she said immediately

"Nothing?" Lie.

"Why are you so cheerful?" Leah asked

"I'm not allowed to be?"

"Not with your 'friend' off getting herself killed and the other one not talking to you," she reminded me. I sighed.

"Well, I can't really do anything about either of those — well I could for the second, but he needs to talk to me first — so there's not much point worrying over it just yet." I decided

"You're weird." Leah decided

"No more weirder then you are." I nudged her. Leah rolled her eyes at me.

I heard the sounds of paws along the ground as Jacob, James and Jared raced here for lunch. Sam patted Emily softly and she took that as a sign to get up and get everything ready for their arrival. Sam got up and went with her.

I loved the relationship they had with one another. It was gorgeous to watch.

The three boys approached the house — not human — and Jacob stopped when he reached it. I rolled my eyes, of course it was because of me. He couldn't avoid me forever.

"Come on dude," James encouraged, he knew this fact just like I did. I'd given Jacob a few days now, he had had time. Plus, I wasn't going to miss out on Emily's amazing cooking just cause he couldn't be man enough to face me yet and allow me to apologise.

"What's for lunch Em?" Jared asked entering the kitchen

"Wait and find out," Emily smiled back

"I smell sausages," I said smiling. Leah nodded, her mouth basically watering.

"Leah, don't be such a dog," I pushed her chin up and she glared at me as everyone laughed, even the boys in the other room. I smirked.

"You're gonna regret that," she threatened

"How?" I questioned. I shouldn't have asked, because at that point, Leah pounced on me.

The force of her body caused me to go flying off the couch, Leah with me, until we hit the ground.

We rolled around for a bit, her trying to, I think tickle me, while I attempted to get her off of me. I was a little surprised she didn't kill me in her tackle with her strength and everything. I think the wolves just forgot I was actually fragile… ish.

"Oi!" Sam's voice sounded, his alpha voice sounding. Because Leah was bound by that voice and I wasn't, I ended up sitting on her.

"Ha, ha. I win." I rubbed in. She growled at me before giving Sam an annoyed look.

"If you're gonna do that, you do it outside. I don't need you recking Emily's kitchen." Sam ordered

"Come on Sam, we're not as bad as the boys are," I confessed

"Plus she's only human, we can't reck anything with that," Leah pointed out. I threw her a look, I didn't like that comment. It was almost like 'human' was an insult all of a sudden.

"I don't know, if she was human, you probably would have broken her," Jared thought.

"I'm not as rough as you are Jared." Leah spat at him. I flicked her nose

"Don't be horrid." I scolded, her lip raised and exposed her teeth. I just smirked at her.

"Lex, give me a hand?" Emily called

"Alright!" I got off of Leah in an instant and weaved through the boys, ignoring them all, to the kitchen to help Emily.

I felt like a kid, the way Emily asked and I agreed like that. Oh well, around freakishly tall wolves, who could blame me?

"She is too hyper," Paul muttered

"Think something happened?" Seth wondered, Jacob immediately looked at me. I knew what was running through his head and I looked right back at him.

"No." I answered his silent thought. Everyone looked between the two of us confused before I went back to cutting up the vegetables.

"What?" Seth questioned confused

"Jacob thought Lex might have been in a good mood because Bella was back," James explained. It annoyed me how he knew us so well sometimes.

"If you know what they're thinking then why's she so happy?" Jared questioned

"Usually it's cause she discovered something new," James shrugged. They all looked at me and I couldn't help but glare at James. Why did he know me so well?!

"I'd say you're spot on," Paul smirked

"What did you find?" Seth wondered curiously.

"Nothing interesting." I said.

"Then why are you so hyper?" Leah smirked

"Nothing interesting, to you lot." I changed my answer.

"How do you know?" Embry asked

"Trust me." I muttered

"You just don't want to tell us do you?" James realised

"Well it's not _really _any of your business." I admitted

"You have to tell us now," Leah said, great, I'd admitted I did discover something.

"Was it something to do with you?" Jared asked.

"You just want to know if I can run," I realised. He shrugged, not denying it.

Embry was about to ask me a questioned when everyone was interrupted by my phone going off.

Saved by the bell.

I pulled it out of my pocket and pressed the green answer button.

"Hello?"

"Alex!" Alice called. I froze. All the wolves did too, while Emily looked from me to them all.

"Oh my god!" I answered "Are you alight?!" I demanded to know, ignoring them all

"We're fine." Alice assured me

"_Everyone_?!" I added the emphasis on the word.

"Yes, _everyone._" she agreed. I released the breath I was holding.

"Where are you?" I wondered

"We're on the plane home," Alice answered

"When do you think you'll land?" I asked immediately.

"Where are you?" she asked a completely different question. I stood there with my eyebrows pushed together confused, as my mouth opened and closed that fraction over and over again.

Then my eyes settled on the wolves watching me. I immediately understood why she'd asked me that. She didn't want the boys to hear.

"LaPush," I answered carefully

"At home?" Alice asked, I could hear she knew what I meant

"No." I said. That was all she needed to know I was surrounded by wolves who were listening to our conversation.

"Well, the times really depend, the flights could be delayed and what not. But we've only been on the first one for about two hours now." Alice said, I could hear the lie in her voice. I'd ask her later when I was alone. "Sorry for not calling earlier but…" Alice said

"No, don't worry about that, I understand that part, I'm just glad you called." I confessed

"Yeah, it was a little hectic for a while there," Alice admitted

"Call me when you land here?" I asked

"Absolutely…" I knew that her trailing off like that meant she wouldn't want the wolves to know.

"Thanks Alice." I said

"Well, I couldn't have you worrying after all you and …" she paused "…did for Bella while we were away."

"Yeah no problem. I couldn't leave my friend like that anyway." I couldn't help but risk looking at Jacob's face, it was both relieved, and pissed.

"Thanks all the same." Alice admitted

"I'll talk to you later then?" I wondered

"Definitely," Alice allowed. Then she said something as though she was talking from a distance. I swear even the wolves wouldn't have heard it. "Alone." she added.

"Bye Alice." I smiled

"See you." and the line went dead. I looked at the phone as I removed it from my ear and exhaled deeply again before putting the phone in my pocket and returning to my job helping Emily.

There was dead silence around us and I was the only moving and making a sound. It was sort of intimidating.

I guess they eventually realised that I wasn't going to speak.

"Alexis…" Sam began

"Mmm?" I wondered

"Why —"

"Are you seriously going to ask me that stupid question?" I cut him off, putting the knife down.

"They're dangerous!" Jacob added

"Funny," I smiled sarcastically "Because so are you!" I accused annoyed. Was it such a crime that I asked a vampire to call me and tell me whether my best friend was alright or not?

At those words I couldn't take it. I didn't like all the accusing looks and stares. I walked around the kitchen bench

"Sorry Em." I apologised before leaving the house.

I could hear, someone, following me, so as soon as I was out the door I ran off. I wasn't going to put up with this.

I ran for home, luckily, it was empty. As soon as I got there I pulled my phone out again and redialled Alice's number.

She picked up immediately.

"That was quick," she confessed

"Yeah, turns out a lot can happen in three days." I admitted

"Like what?" she wondered.

"I'll let you know when you come back… you are coming back right?" I wondered

"Yeah. We all are." Alice assured me.

"I'm guessing Edward knows I do now then?" I half asked

"Yes, he knows everything, but…" there was a pause "He's a little distracted at the moment."

"I guess that's acceptable," I nodded "So where are you really?" I wondered

"You don't believe me?" Alice wondered

"I know when someone's lying to me, even when it's down the phone." I confessed

"Huh, well we're about two hours _out _not in." she confessed

"Awesome." I muttered

"I'm guessing you were surrounded by _them_?"

"Yes. I was hoping you'd pick up on that, I'd thought you'd want to know." I confessed

"Don't really need them rocking up the second we get there," Alice admitted.

"Understood, I wouldn't either." I confessed "You're timing was perfect by the way, well done." I confessed

"Why, what were they doing?"

"Interrogating me."

"Why?"

"Cause I was in a good mood." I shrugged. Alice snarled ever so quietly on the other end.

"Stupid dogs."

"They just don't like being kept in the dark about anything, especially when it concerns me."

"Why?" Alice repeated

"Cause things happened," I admitted casually.

"You going to tell me?" Alice wondered

"Maybe," I smirked. She sighed.

"So, when is it acceptable for me to come around and say hi and what ever?" I wondered

"Well, Carlisle, Esme, Emmett, Rosalie and Jasper will be at the airport when we get back and then we're all going back to Forks. They're probably there now sort of putting everything back to normal." Alice explained

"Home sweet home," I muttered

"I can't wait to get back and see Jazz again," Alice admitted

"I'm excited for you _all _to get back." I confessed

"Well, give us a few hours before you pop in." Alice decided

"Alright, is that going to be alright with everyone else?"

"Well Rosalie wont be happy, but she never is. Plus it's not like you were _told_," she remembered

"Bella wasn't either was she?"

"No, but Edward sort of made it obvious." Alice admitted, I heard a grunt in the background and smirked. "Just make sure you cover yourself in perfume or something."

"I'll shower in lots of nice aromas and change my clothes" I promised. I needed a shower anyway after today. I'm surprised the wolves didn't pick up on it.

Alice laughed.

"Alright,"

"It might not work though," I warned

"At least you'll try,"

"Promise." I nodded

"Alright, see you in a few hours."

"See you Alice." I said, I heard one more giggle before the line went dead.

I walked into the bathroom and got a bath ready. When the water was hot and the bath was full, I went through my draws finding all different aromas, remembering how Alice said my scent smelt to her and finding things that went with it.

I squirted several things into the bath as well as dropping a few bath bombs in and getting nice shampoo and conditioner ready.

I walked back into my room and stripped off before putting a dressing gown on and walking back into the bathroom, shutting and locking the door.

The bath was just what I needed, a nice _long_ soak.

I stayed in there until my fingers went pruney and the water started to go cold. I cleaned up the bathroom and emptying the bath before I wrapped my hair in a towel and put my dressing gown back on.

When I walked back into my room, it wasn't empty.

I jumped when I saw Jacob standing there completely serious, his arms crossed over his chest and his eyebrows furrowed together.

"Jeez," I muttered "You sneak into my room _much_ to often." I confessed

"I know you didn't just run out because of us." Jacob said seriously

"No it was completely because of you." I confessed "Because you were there." I added

I walked around him and went over to my dresser, sitting down.

"What did she say?"

"Who?" I wondered, not looking at him.

Jacob's hands were on my arms and my back was against the wall in a second. The towel fell from my head and I glared at Jake, not surprised by his actions.

"Don't play with me!" he growled. I glared at him, my eyes changing.

"Get, off, now!" I growled back angrily, the anger was slowly building up inside me.

Jacob at first didn't move, but my glare just got fiercer and fiercer until he finally realised me.

My feet hit the floor again and I crossed my arms.

"You cannot just go attacking me like that Jacob," I scolded "Or do you really want to go through what James and I endured?" I wondered. I saw him flinch. I walked around him and to my closet, looking around before I picked something to wear.

I walked out of my room with the clothes in my hand before walking into the bathroom, Jacob followed me before I slammed the door in his face.

I got changed in a second, put some moisturiser on my face and walked back out again to hang my dressing gown back up and to grab my towel from the floor.

I rubbed the towel over my hair, drying it as much as possible first before walking into the bathroom to blow dry it. Jacob just watched, waiting for me to calm down and finish.

When I was done and satisfied with myself I walked downstairs and into the kitchen

"Are you going to tell me now?" Jacob asked annoyed

"Are you going to actually talk to me nicely?" I asked turning to him. Jacob at first looked annoyed, then concerned, and then finally, sorry. "I can't apologise if you're angry with me." I confessed. Now Jacob looked at me confused

"What for?" he began

"Jacob," I began walking towards him "I'm really sorry for what I said a few days ago." I said, a could feel the sorry look in my eyes. Jacob frowned

"You were right…"

"That doesn't give me the right to say it!" I cut him off. "It was harsh and hurtful and I didn't have the right to say something like that." my eyes were welling up with tears. Jacob placed his hands on my shoulders.

"When I was yelling at you I actually wanted to cause you some pain, that's why I said it. And that's not acceptable." I confessed "I'm so, so, so sorry." Jacob pulled me into a hug then, and I gladly hugged him back.

"That's alright," he assured me. He then pulled back and looked at me

"It was better before all this happened, wasn't it?" He said

"Much. And funner too. When was the last time we all had some fun, climbed a tree or something?" I wondered, he frowned

"I guess around christmas." he was right, after that Bella had come along and Embry had phased. We'd all been split up after that.

"We need to fix that." I decided

"We can't till Quil…" He trailed off. I shrugged

"Well, it needs to happen one way or another." I decided. He smiled, then his expression turned confused.

"By the way, how'd you get here so fast?" He wondered. Uh oh.

"What do you mean?" I asked

"You suddenly disappeared from Emily's house and I couldn't even catch up to you." Jacob explained "And then when I get here it turns out you've had time to have a shower already?"

"I have no idea what you mean," I lied. His expression turned hard. "You don't believe me?" I wondered

"I don't believe you'd be able to get here before I could catch up to you." Jacob confessed.

I shrugged

"Sorry Jake, but I just ran here." It wasn't a _full_ lie.

He continued to give me the hard, masked and confused look as I removed myself from his arms. I walked over to the fridge and grabbed myself a drink of juice as he stood there staring at me.

"What?" I demanded

"There's no way you could have ran here and me not catch up." he decided strongly

"Well obviously you gave me a head start." I argued. Where had our moment just gone?

"No, I went straight after you." Jacob said strongly

"Obviously not." I argued. "We both know I wouldn't be able to out run you."

"No, after the other day I don't know that," Jacob admitted, I looked at him

"You think I '_ran_'?" I asked, emphasising a different meaning on the word. He stared at me

"I think a lot of things are happening to you, and you don't seem to want to trust me." Jacob said

"It's a little hard to trust you with anything when, one, you're angry, and two you're mind is shared with everyone else!" I hissed.

"So you are hiding something," Jacob said

"I never said that!" I grounded my teeth together.

"Is that why you wont tell me what the blood sucker really said then?" Jacob asked. I glared at him

"I wont tell you because she doesn't want you to know!" I admitted "She doesn't need a bunch of angry mindless wolves on her doorstep the second she gets home!"

"This is none of your business!" Jacob growled at me.

My glare disappeared as I stared at him surprised. I can't believe he just said that!

The surprise disappeared and my fists balled into fists, smashing the glass in my hand and sending juice everywhere. Neither of us dwelled on that.

My teeth and fingers began to throb again and I clenched my jaw so tightly together I thought my teeth might actually break.

I couldn't help it. It was absolutely insane but I couldn't hold it back, the anger in me was just absolutely ridiculous. I felt like I was going to burst, I had to get it all out somehow, I had to put that anger into something.

So I lunged at Jacob.

My force surprisingly knocked him backwards and to the floor. I sat on him and drew my fist back before I smashed it into his face. I felt his nose, cheek bone and possible his jaw smash under my fist and a cracking noise sounded through the otherwise empty house. Blood ran from his nose and mouth a little and I felt the warm sticky substance on my fist, but I ignored it.

"HOW FUCKING DARE YOU SAY IT'S NONE OF MY FUCKING BUSINESS!" I shouted at him. "THAT'S MY FAMILY! JAMES IS A PART OF IT, MY DAD'S A PART OF IT, YOU AND EMBRY, AND SETH AND LEAH ARE A PART OF IT! HOW DARE YOU FUCKING EXCLUDE ME FROM THAT! HOW DARE YOU THINK YOU'RE FUCKING BETTER! WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH YOU JACOB BLACK?!" I raged at him.

I realised I was bouncing around and it was because Jacob was shaking like crazy. I did a summersault off of his body before I stormed out of the house, leaving him there.

I was getting into way to many fights lately. I felt as bad as a werewolf, always loosing my temper. What happened to the days were I used to laugh and muck around with my musketeers everyday? Though it was only half my fault, the boys all kept pissing me off and excluding me. I might not be a werewolf but that was no reason to look down on me like that, no one looked down on Emily for christ sake!

And it seemed like they thought they were better then me! Not that they knew it but I could probably out run them all!

Though this anger and the fact that I never got scared anymore could end up getting me killed. Mum was going to freak out when she finds out what had happened, when she finds out I angered yet _another _werewolf in our house, and also almost got myself shredded.

One day, I was going to end with scars like Emily's if I didn't stop this and be more careful.

I walked down the street trying to calm myself down. My walk eventually slowed and calmed down as I found a rock to kick along the side walk like in gay movies.

I took a deep breath and stopped walking, closing my eyes and concentrating on breathing. The breathing helped to calm me down and I felt much better after a few minutes.

I was terrible. This was the second time I'd spat at Jacob and yelled at him. The second time we'd gotten into a fight, and right after I'd apologised for the first one too! Why?! Why did the universe want us to hurt each other? Did it want us to hate each other or something?

This sucked. Everything was so much more simpler before all of this happened. Before he phased, before I became weird. Before Jacob fell so deeply in love with Bella.

I sighed. It didn't matter how much we fought, I still felt sorry for this fact; the fact that Jacob loved Bella, but she loved Edward. And I was the one stuck in the middle, between Bella and Jacob, and probably, between Edward and Jacob later on too. For no way was Jacob just going to stay away, he cared about Bella too much, thought she was in danger to much to just, ignore her.

I could see one very angry, deathly, love triangle coming along.

Poor Bella too. Torn between the love of her life and her best friend, who were mortal enemies. And she's caught in the cross fire.

At least she didn't have to deal with what I do, the wolves looking down on me and threatening to shred me every second. Sure, vampires weren't much better, but these ones were at least controlling, the wolves were, obviously, not. Plus I was going to have to listen to the complaining.

"If I turn into a messenger I'm going to shoot someone." I muttered as the thought entered my head.

That was not something that was allowed to happen. I was not going to tolerate the whole 'you tell him…', 'well you tell him…', and blah, blah, blah. Bella can do that.

I huffed. I thought the Cullens coming back would be good. Turns out nothing really good has happened since, only more worse. Other then the weird things happening to me, but I wasn't sure if that was a good thing or not.


	20. Chapter 20

Chapter 19:

I didn't go home, I walked around for hours until dark and until it had been long enough for me to allow myself to go and find the Cullen house. I refused to go home and get my car incase someone was there waiting to shout at me again, so I decided to just run. I'd managed to find Emily's house while running somehow, so maybe I could do the same with the Cullen house.

I walked towards Forks and to the highway, I knew their house was off of the highway somewhere, like most things were in the small town. So that was a good place to start.

Once I'd crossed the road and I was on the Forks side of the highway, I walked into the trees and closed my eyes, trying to get a feel for the forest, trying to find my sense of direction. If I had one.

I fell into what felt like and unconscious subconscious part of my mind. Once I found that, I just started walking, and eventually, that walking turned into running.

The first thing I noticed where the scents that began to fill my nose. They were vampire scents, insanely sweet, but not, too sweet that it was an awful smell. They didn't smell bad to me like they did to the wolves.

I could pick out Alice's scent amongst the seven scents, that assured me that I was going in the right direction. Bella's was mixed in there a few times, always entangled with another's though, I guessed that was Edward's.

I wonder if they'd hear me coming, I couldn't even hear the sound of my feet hitting the ground, it was so quiet. It was weird. I'd never been stealthy before.

The scents got stronger and I could hear the sound of a river not far off. Mixed with it was the sound of voices. I could make out six after a few minutes, and the scents that were now fresh and strong, were only six.

One vampire was missing.

Edward. I knew Bella wasn't in the house so Edward was probably with her.

I ran into a small meadow. There were six primordial cedars that shaded an entire acre with their vast sweep of branches. The trees held their protecting shadow right up to the walls of the house that rose among them, making obsolete the deep porch that wrapped around the first story.

The house was timeless, graceful, and probably a hundred years old. It was painted a soft, faded white, three stories tall, rectangular and well proportioned. The windows and doors were either part of the original structure or a perfect restoration.

I ignored the river, and jumped it, before I headed to the front door. It wasn't until I reached the front door that I realised I'd actually jumped a river. It was to wide for me to be able to do so…

I didn't get to think about it before I heard someone approaching and I looked at the door just in time to see Alice's smile as her cold arms wrapped around my neck.

"You're here!" She sounded glad

"Why wouldn't I be, you let me come," I reminded her

"I know, but I wasn't sure if those pets of yours would let you come." Alice admitted, pulling back so that I could see her unbelievably gorgeous face. "Oh, sorry." she said after realising she'd insulted them.

I laughed

"Don't worry, you're allowed to insult them. They insult you too remember." I admitted

"Yes, but they're closer to you…" Alice reminded me

"Alice, one, I know you don't like them and that's your right, what ever to that. Two, I'm pissed at them so who gives a shit." I confessed, she smirked at me.

"Well, let me show you around." Alice decided and she guided me into the house.

The inside was very bright, very open, and very large. The first floor must have originally been several rooms, but the walls had been removed from most of the first floor to create one wide space. The back, south-facing wall had been entirely replaced with glass, and, beyond the shade of the cedars, the lawn stretched bare to the wide river. A massive curving staircase dominated the west side of the room. The walls, the high-beamed ceiling, the wooden floors, and the thick carpets were all varying shades of white.

Standing just to the left of the door, on a raised portion of the floor was a spectacular grand piano.

The house was just incredible.

"Woah…" I muttered

"You like it?"

"I'm to blown away to answer at the moment, give me a minute…" I confessed. Alice laughed but continued to lead me to the stairs and up to the next floor.

We walked up the massive staircase. The long hall at the top of the stairs was panelled with a honey-coloured wood, the same as the floorboards.

"Rosalie and Emmett's room… Carlisle's office… my room…" Alice gestured as she led me past the doors.

I noticed a large wooden cross, its dark patina contrasting with the lighter tone of the wall

at the end of the hall.

"Wow," I muttered. "Where'd you get that?" I wondered

"It belonged to Carlisle's father. It's from around the early sixteen-thirties."

"He collected antiques?" I asked  
"No. His father carved this himself. It hung on the wall above the pulpit in the vicarage where he preached."

"Wow," I said again, impressed.

"That last room is Edward's." Alice pointed. I nodded remembering

"What next?" I wondered, she smiled

"Someone's eager."

"New things are fun," I shrugged. Sometimes…

She showed me the entire house, and I think my favourite place was the living room. It was nice and open and homey.

"Your house is awesome!" I smirked

"Glad you like it," Alice smiled.

I could hear everyone else in the house, Carlisle was in his office, Esme was in her room, Emmett and Rosalie were in their room and Jasper was in another living room.

"They aren't being very hostly are they," I confessed. Alice looked at me confused "I know everyone but Edward's home, I don't mean to be rude but they could at least say hi," I smirked, joking a little. Alice rolled her eyes

"They were pretending not to be here," She confessed

"Why?" I wondered

"Well they didn't think you'd want them here." Alice sighed, I looked at her confused

"Why…?"

"Cause you're a dog lover." Alice shrugged, I rolled my eyes

"Technically I'm a cat lover." I corrected "If I didn't want to see them I wouldn't have come," I confessed. Immediately the room was filled with people, five more.

A women with as beautiful features as the rest of them walked up to me. She had a heart-shaped face and billows of soft, caramel-coloured hair. She was small, slender, yet less angular, more rounded than the others.

She pulled me into a hug.

"It's a pleasure to meet you Alexis." She smiled

"It's much more of a pleasure to finally meet you Esme," I said, gladly accepting her hug. She pulled back and looked at me confused

"Sweetie do you have a fever?" she wondered. I smirked

"No, I'm just strange." I shrugged "And don't go sniffing me, I'm not a wolf," I assured her with a smile. She smiled back but rolled her eyes.

"You do smell rather nice?" Alice admitted

"I soaked myself in several aromas to try and get rid of the smell," I confessed

"You did a good job," Esme complimented

"Thanks," I smiled

Carlisle came up to me next and held out his hand

"Carlisle," I greeted

"It's good to see you again Alex," he smiled his unbelievably kind smile. The one that immediately brought out the answering one on my face.

"You too," I answered. Jasper was standing back from me, I could see the hesitating look in his eyes.

I debated for a second, I knew I didn't smell like that to them, but I wonder how they'd act if I tempted it.

I gave Alice a look and I think she understood cause she smiled. Alice walked up to Jasper and took his arm, bringing him over to me. I took few steps closer also and everyone tensed, ready to interfere when he got out of control.

"Alice…" Esme warned

"Jasper," I smiled as both Alice and I ignored Esme. Jasper's body got tenser and tenser.

"Alex…" he said slowly, trying not to breath. I rolled my eyes.

"It's alright Jazz, you can relax," I assured him. Jasper looked at me a little confused as I gave him an encouraging look. Jasper glanced at Alice who gave him the same look.

I watched as Jasper's body relaxed and his chest heaved that little bit. The confusion was way to obvious in his face.

"See, now was that so bad?" I wondered. Jasper didn't answer me as he comprehended me, confused. Everyone was watching us now, confused.

"I'm lost…" Emmett admitted. I smirked and walked over to him

"Brave enough to take a whiff, Emmett?" I dared him, my hands on my hips. Rosalie glared at me. Emmett smirked at the challenged and leaned forwards a tad. The confusion grew on his face too.

"What's going on?" Esme wondered

"She's weird," Emmett confessed. I sighed, I'd been here less then half an hour and I was already being called weird.

"Weird how?" Carlisle asked

"She smell's… weird," was all Emmett could describe it. I rolled my eyes

"She doesn't smell appealing," Jasper did a better job.

Rosalie was next to smell me, and the recognition of what they were going on about showed on her face. I had to admit, it was weird having them smell me like that.

Esme walked back over to me.

"They're right," she admitted. Carlisle was next and I just stood still, waiting for them to finally get over it. Everyone looked at Alice

"Why?" Rosalie wondered, Alice shrugged.

"She was like that when I first came here after Bella jumped off that cliff." she confessed. Everyone looked at me

"Don't look at me, I don't have a clue." I confessed

"How long's it been like that for?" Carlisle wondered.

"Uh…" I had to think for a minute, when had I fainted… "A few weeks…?" I think that's right, "Maybe a month… wait no, it was longer then that…" When did Victoria attack me? It was before I'd fainted…

"I first found out about it… maybe two months ago, but otherwise, I don't know." I confessed

"I never noticed it before," Alice admitted "When we were at school," I shrugged.

"Has anything else happened?" Carlisle wondered

"Depends, what exactly do you mean?" I asked, Carlisle raised an eyebrow

"What? It's a long story. Which reminds me," I walked back up to Alice "You gotta tell me what happened!" I demanded. She sighed, knowing she didn't have a way out.

"I have another question…" Emmett began, I turned to him "How'd you get here?"

"I ran," I shrugged

"Ran?" he questioned, I nodded.

"Is there another meaning to the word they recently made?" I wondered. He shrugged.

"Oh my god," Alice gasped, I looked at her

"What?" I wondered. Alice pinched her nose and Jasper took a step back. "I didn't notice it till now because you're so covered in aromas…" Alice said, her voice sounded funny as she held her nose

"What?" I repeated

"You smell like blood… but bad blood!" she finally answered. I had to think before I looked down at my fist, it still contained Jacob's blood.

"Oh, sorry," I muttered and I walked around her to the kitchen to wash it off. I used heap of soap in an attempt to get ride of the smell as well.

"What the hell was that?" Alice asked as the Cullens' filled into the kitchen curiously. "Smelled toxic,"

"I guess it would to you," I admitted

"It reminded me of those dogs…" Alice finally noticed

"Better hope so, it's their blood." I grumbled as I wiped my hand

"What?!" Alice, Carlisle and Esme asked, they weren't worried about the wolves per say, but more about me.

"Oh, it's alright, it only belongs to one of them," I assured them

"How'd you get it on your hand?" Esme asked worried

"I punched him in the face," I shrugged. Emmett started bursting out laughing.

"Why?" Alice asked horrified

"He pissed me off!" I confessed "So I broke his nose and his collar bone and possibly his jaw too." I said casually.

"Alex," Jasper began, I noticed the serious tone his voice held. "How'd you break the bones of a werewolf without hurting yourself?" He questioned. I stood there for a few seconds before I frowned.

"I don't know," I admitted softly. "I got mad so I jumped at him and punched his face before yelling at him. Then I left and I haven't been home since," I explained

"You jumped him! A werewolf?!" Alice asked

"I'm fine, I promise." I sighed hearing the worry in her voice.

"Yes, but how?" Carlisle wondered

"Been asking myself that question for weeks," I admitted. Emmett walked up to me and placed his arm around my shoulders

"You're going to be just as interesting as Bella to have around." he grinned

"Why?"

"You punched a werewolf, only you and Bella would be stupid to do that." he admitted. I glared at him

"You calling me stupid Emmett?" I asked "Don't make me punch you too," I threatened, he laughed again

"I dare you too." Esme looked at him disapprovingly. I looked at him, debating it, either I could, and I'd either break my hand or actually hurt him… but that had only happened once so I wasn't going to test it, not on a vampire.

"How about later?"

"Aww," he teased

"It's only happened once… twice, Emmett, and both were accidental, so I'm not going to risk it." I decided

"Smart," Alice agreed, I nodded.

"Alex, why don't you tell me everything that's happened to you?" Carlisle asked

"Only if Alice promises to tell me?" I looked at her and she nodded with a sigh. I grinned before turning to Carlisle. He gestured to the couch and I happily sat down.

I started with my clash with Victoria, they were all shocked by this. I told them about Bella and my encounter with Laurent, I told them about my out burst at Jacob and my brother, I was trying to keep the amount of words spoken on them slim as to not annoy them.

I got to the part about me passing out and collapsing and told them how I figured out the wolves secret and about the Vampires, including them.

I mentioned how my hearing was suddenly better and my smell, how the boys said I walked gracefully like the vampires did — which by the way, was still happening — I told them about my near death experiences with the wolves to which they were very unhappy about, mainly because they weren't controlling their anger while around an 'innocent' person.

I told them about the rings, but not about my recent experiment.

I got to my story about James' outburst and I told them everything I could in detail, trying to remember what happened as clearly as I could, as it was all a little hazy.

Then I told them about my experiments with the wolves on my senses, told them about my speed and then, finally I paused before telling them about my tree fall.

"You did what?!" Alice raged standing up

"Well, I needed to find out if I could do it again somehow," I confessed

"You didn't need to jump out of a tree to do so!" Alice said "You could have at least had someone there to catch you!"

"I didn't want to tell the boys, they'd only get pissed at me like you are," I confessed "And try and talk me out of it!"

"Good!" Alice answered, I rolled my eyes.

"The point is, I fell out of a tree an landed _lightly _on my feet. It was like ninety metres high or something." I said, ignoring Alice's outburst.

"Alex, Alice is right, you shouldn't have done something so dangerous," Esme said, though calmer then Alice

"I know, but I had to do something, the suspense of wondering whether I could do it again was driving me insane." I confessed "Plus, I needed something to take my mind off the fact that Alice and Bella were possibly getting themselves killed." I reminded them. They were silent so I took the opportunity to continue.

"Then I went to Emily's house, got Alice's phone call and rushed home. Though Jacob followed me and raged at me, for the second time in three days. He pissed me off so much I launched myself at him and broke his face." I confessed. Emmett grinned

"Excellent!" He thought

"Emmett!" Esme scolded

"No, it's alright, he'll heal easily, I must admit it was a good punch." I smirked

"Strong one at that," Carlisle muttered as he looked at me, organising all the data I'd given him.

"Now Alice, your turn!" I half ordered. She sighed.

Alice took a deep breath and told me everything, how Bella was freaking out the entire way, how she stole a yellow Porsche that she's dying to get. She also added in that Edward promised to buy her one.

She said how they almost run over people in Volterra and that they were having the Saint Marcus Day festival. She began to inform me about the Volturi, about the head Aro, Caius and Marcus after she told me the police had stopped her and Bella had to run towards the clock tower on her own, for Edward couldn't read her thoughts and wouldn't rush into it as he would have done if Alice had gone.

She told me that Bella saved Edward but they were then approached by two people of the Volturi's guard, Felix, a big bulky guy, probably as strong as Emmett, maybe more — to which Emmett scoffed — and Demetri, a tracker.

Edward and Alice had resisted until a girl turned up, a blonde girl no taller then Alice. Alice explained that she could make you feel pain, but it was only a mental thing. You weren't actually in pain she just made you mind believe so. Her power didn't work on Bella just like Edward's and Aro's didn't, as Aro could read every thought you'd ever had with one touch.

I shuddered a little at the thought of any of them in my head. Alice ignored it and continued.

She told me the Volturi were planning on killing Bella because she knew way to much. The one rule vampires were absolutely obliged by, was that they kept their existence a secret, the Volturi were so powerful and had such 'weapons' in their guard that no one opposed them in the fear of getting killed. Unless, like Edward, that's what you wanted.

The only way they'd managed to get out with Bella alive was that Alice promised Aro, Caius and Marcus, that she'd change Bella into a vampire herself. A promise Bella was very much happy about as that was what she wanted, to be one of them.

I kept my face plain as I learned that fact, I wasn't sure how I felt about Bella wanting such a thing.

"That's about it," Alice admitted

"Wow, you guys had fun didn't you," I said sarcastically.

"Not as much as jumping out of a tree" Alice's eyes narrowed. I glared at her

"Alice, you can't change it, so get over it." I advised.

"If I could _see_ you I would have called you and told you you were insane and to stop it!" She admitted

"But you would have seen that I would be perfectly fine and you wouldn't be freaking out as much." I reminded her. She didn't have an answer for that.

"So, are you actually going to change Bella?" I wondered. Alice sighed

"We might have to, if they come looking for her, to check." Alice admitted

"Let me guess, Edward's very much against it?" I wondered, looking at all of their expressions. Everyone nodded.

"Well, that sounds like a painful conflict…" I muttered

"You can't tell them by the way," Alice began, I rolled my eyes

"As if I would, it's none of their business." I said just a little harshly

"You're really angry with them aren't you?" Emmett smirked

"Just a little," I said, completely undermining the statement. "Though, I think I'm punishing them enough by not telling them where I've been for the last few hours," I smirked

"You shouldn't do that to them, Alex," Esme sighed, I shrugged.

"Maybe you should leave then." Rosalie decided, I turned and glared at her

"That's a bit rude," I confessed, she glared back at me "Not a very good host, are you Rose?" her lip pulled back a little but I just turned away and ignored her, as Emmett tried to calm her down.

I stood up

"Though she is right," I looked at the watch on my wrist. "Probably should go home before my mother has a heart attack." Alice sighed, it was almost as if she didn't want me to leave.

"I can come back if you want Alice," I smirked. She rolled her eyes

"If those dogs let you."

"Ha, I'd like to see them stop me."

"Don't underestimate them Alex," Carlisle warned, I shrugged. I went to turn to the door, but stopped when I heard someone running towards the house. It was Edward, but he wasn't alone, Bella was with him.

"Eddie's home," I said casually as I walked to the stairs.

I met Edward and Bella at the bottom.

"Lexi!" Bella looked at me surprised

"Hey," I smiled and gave her a hug. "Glad to see you're alright."

"Yeah… what are you doing here?"

"Finding out what happened," I admitted, Bella frowned "Sounds like you went through a lot. Are you alright?" I wondered, she nodded, but I didn't believe her, she was a little freaked out still behind that mask.

"By the way," I looked at my watch it was actually late. Our explanations had taken quite a while to get through, the hour was absurd and I should probably be fast asleep at the moment. It was about one in the morning.

Only now did I actually realise how freaked out everyone would be, I'd been gone since about two in the afternoon, so just under twelve hours.

Oops.

"What are you doing here? You just flew from continent to continent."

"I slept all day," Bella shrugged

"All day?" I asked, I turned to glare up the stairs. "Alice said you only just got back a few hours ago…"

"Oops…" Alice muttered, Bella sighed and shook her head.

"Sorry," She apologised. I shook my head

"That's alright, I can understand." I admitted, they wouldn't want me here immediately, that I can understand and if they asked me not to turn up immediately, I wouldn't. So why didn't Alice just say that?

"I needed to talk to everyone about something," Bella answered my question,

"Well, don't let me hold you up." I smiled, giving her an actual hug

"Actually, seeing as you're here, could you stay and listen?" Bella wondered. I blinked at her as Edward groaned.

"Really?" he questioned

"She already knows everything, what's wrong with her knowing this too?" Bella asked him. Edward already wasn't happy about Bella being here, I could see that. What ever Bella wanted to do, Edward was totally against it.

Bella took my hand as if to stop me from leaving and gave me a look.

I sighed.

"Alright," I promised. She smiled sat me and gave me another hug.

"Thanks," she said. She then looked at Edward who gave her a look. Edward called out the names with no more volume than you'd use in regular conversation.

"Carlisle? Esme? Rosalie? Emmett? Jasper? Alice?" I heard the silent footsteps and Carlisle was suddenly standing beside Bella.

"Welcome back, Bella." He smiled. "What can we do for you this morning? I imagine, due to the hour, that this is not a purely social visit?" Bella nodded.

"I'd like to talk to everyone at once, if that's okay. About something important." I noticed Bella glance up at Edward's face as she spoke. His expression was critical, but resigned. Carlisle was looking at Edward, too.

"Of course," Carlisle said. "Why don't we talk in the other room?" He gave me a smile as he walked past me, he knew I was staying, he'd heard our conversation.

Carlisle led the way through the bright living room, around the corner to the dining room. In the centre of the room, under the low-hanging chandelier, was a large, polished oval table surrounded by eight chairs. Carlisle held out a chair for Bella at the head.

As soon as Bella turned to sit in the chair, we saw that we were not alone. Esme had followed Edward, and behind her the rest of the family filed in.

Carlisle sat down on Bella's right, and Edward on her left. I stayed standing as there wasn't enough seats and leaned against the wall. Alice was grinning at Bella, already in on the plot. Emmett and Jasper looked curious, and Rosalie smiled at Bella tentatively, which was weird. Bella's answering smile was just as timid. Carlisle nodded toward Bella.

"The floor is yours." he allowed. Bella swallowed. She peeked at Edward, but he was watching the others, his face suddenly fierce.

"Well," Bella paused. "I'm hoping Alice has already told you everything that happened in Volterra?"

"Everything," Alice assured her. Bella looked at me and I nodded, reminding her I knew. "And on the way?"

"That, too," she nodded.

"Good," Bella sighed with relief. "Then we're all on the same page." We waited patiently while Bella seemed to try and order her thoughts.

"So, I have a problem," she began. "Alice promised the Volturi that I would become one of you. They're going to send someone to check, and I'm sure that's a bad thing – something to avoid."

I don't know why, but I immediately understood. Edward's posture and facial expressions, he didn't like that idea, the idea that Bella would need to be changed, that that was what she wanted.

That's what this was about.

I wasn't sure how I personally felt about it, technically it wasn't any of my business, but Bella obviously wanted me here for a reason, did that mean I needed to give her my opinion on the idea?

What was my opinion…?

"And so, now, this involves you all. I'm sorry about that." she looked at each one of their faces, saving Edward's for last. Edward's mouth was turned down into a grimace. "But, if you don't want me, then I'm not going to force myself on you, whether Alice is willing or not." Esme opened her mouth to speak, but Bella held up one finger to stop her.

"Please, let me finish. You all know what I want. And I'm sure you know what Edward thinks, too. I think the only fair way to decide is for everyone to have a vote. If you decide you don't want me, then… I guess I'll go back to Italy alone. I can't have them coming here." Her forehead creased as she considered that. There was the faint rumble of a growl in Edward's chest. Bella ignored him.

"Taking into account, then, that I won't put any of you in danger either way, I want you to vote yes or no on the issue of me becoming a vampire." Bella half-smiled on the last word, and gestured toward Carlisle to begin.

"Just a minute," Edward interrupted. Bella glared at him through narrowed eyes. He raised his eyebrows at her.

"I have something to add before we vote." Bella sighed. "About the danger Bella's referring to," he continued. "I don't think we need to be overly anxious." His expression became more animated. He put his free hand on the shining table and leaned forward.

"You see," he explained, looking around the table while he spoke, "there was more than one reason why I didn't want to shake Aro's hand there at the end. There's something they didn't think of, and I didn't want to cine them in." He grinned.

"Which was?" Alice prodded her expression skeptical.

"The Volturi are overconfident, and with good reason. When they decide to find someone, it's not really a problem. Do you remember Demetri?" He glanced down at Bella. She shuddered and he took that as a yes. "He finds people–that's his talent, why they keep him. Now, the whole time we were with any of them, I was picking their brains for anything that might save us, getting as much information as possible. So I saw how Demetri's talent works. He's a tracker – a tracker a thousand times more gifted than James was. His ability is loosely related to what I do, or what Aro does. He catches the… flavour? I don't know how to describe it… the tenor… of someone's mind, and then he follows that. It works over immense distances. But after Aro's little experiments, well…" Edward shrugged.

"You think he won't be able to find me," Bella said flatly.

Right because Bella's mind is shielded…

Edward was smug.

"I'm sure of it. He relies totally on that other sense. When it doesn't work with you, they'll all be blind."

"And how does that solve anything?"

"Quite obviously, Alice will be able to tell when they're planning a visit, and I'll hide you. They'll be helpless," he said with fierce enjoyment. "It will be like looking for a piece of straw in a haystack!" He and Emmett exchanged a glance and a smirk.

This made no sense, how was this good? Bella must have been thinking the same thing,

"But they can find you," she reminded him.

"And I can take care of myself." Emmett laughed, and reached across the table toward his brother, extending a fist.

"Excellent plan, my brother," he said with enthusiasm. Edward stretched out his arm to smack Emmett's fist with his own.

"No," Rosalie hissed.

"Absolutely not," Bella agreed.

"Nice." Jasper's voice was appreciative.

"Idiots," Alice muttered. I rolled my eyes, was he truly stupid?!

Esme just glared at Edward. Bella straightened up in her chair, focusing.

"All right, then. Edward has offered an alternative for you to consider," she said coolly. "Let's vote." she looked toward Edward this time; it would be better to get his opinion out of the way. "Do you want me to join your family?" His eyes were hard and black as flint.

"Not that way. You're staying human." Bella nodded once, keeping her face businesslike, and then moved on.  
"Alice?"  
"Yes."

"Jasper?"

"Yes," he said, voice grave.

"Rosalie?" She hesitated, biting down on her full, perfect bottom lip.

"No." Bella kept her face blank and turned her head slightly to move on, but Rose held up both her hands, palms forward.

"Let me explain," she pleaded. "I don't mean that I have any aversion to you as a sister. It's just that… this is not the life I would have chosen for myself. I wish there had been someone there to vote no for me." Bella nodded slowly, and then turned to Emmett.

"Hell, yes!" He grinned. "We can find some other way to pick a fight with this Demetri." Bella was still grimacing at that when she looked at Esme.

"Yes, of course, Bella. I already think of you as part of my family."

"Thank you, Esme," she murmured as she turned toward Carlisle. Carlisle wasn't looking at Bella.

"Edward," he said.

"No," Edward growled. His jaw was strained tight, his lips curled back from his teeth.

"It's the only way that makes sense," Carlisle insisted. "You've chosen not to live without her, and that doesn't leave me a choice." Edward dropped Bella's hand, shoving away from the table. He stalked past me out of the room, snarling under his breath.

"I guess you know my vote." Carlisle sighed. Bella was still staring after Edward.

"Thanks," she mumbled. An earsplitting crash echoed from the other room. Bella flinched, and spoke quickly.

"That's all I needed. Thank you. For wanting to keep me. I feel exactly the same way about all of you, too." her voice was jagged with emotion by the end.

Esme was at her side in a flash, her cold arms around her.

"Dearest Bella," she breathed. Bella hugged her back.

She finally turned to me

"I need your opinion." she said, I looked at her confused

"Why?"

"Because, you're my friend and…" she trailed off.

Oh, a spokesperson

"They'd be totally against it." I said softly, she nodded, assuming that

"What about you though?" she asked.

I looked at her as I thought that. Bella as a vampire… living with Edward forever… if that happened she'd never go into a state as to what just happened over the last few months.

"If that happened, you changed, Edward wouldn't be able to leave you," I began, she nodded "And I'd prefer that over seeing you so upset again." I confessed, I saw her face lighten up as I walked around the table to her.

"But, I don't really know the bad side except for the whole blood lust thing." I said "I know you'd be fine with everyone here as they'd always help you, I know Edward would probably go back to Italy if you died of old age and everyone here would be in a terrible state… to me, it seems the only way to prevent any sort of heart break, would be to change you." I confessed "Plus it would mean you're no longer vulnerable to everything around you and you can no longer hurt yourself." I smirked, a smile spread over her face.

"Though my vote probably isn't as important as everyone else's, I'd have to say yes, because from my side of seeing everything, it's the only way to make sure no one's hurt, or sad, or depressed, or anything else. Well, for almost everyone…" I added. She frowned and nodded.

I heard a snarl from the other room

"But as I said, I don't know all of the bad side, obviously Edward has some reason for not liking the idea, and I don't know what that is…" I reminded her. Bella nodded and gave me a hug.

"Thanks," she said

"No problem." I said.

I hope I'd made my point clear.

"Well, Alice," Bella said when I released her. "Where do you want to do this?" Alice stared at her, her eyes widening with terror.

"Uh, Bella…" I began

"No! No! NO!" Edward roared, charging back into the room. He was in Bella's face, basically pushing me aside, in a second, his expression twisted in rage. "Are you insane?" he shouted. "Have you utterly lost your mind?" Bella cringed away, her hands over her ears.

"Um, Bella," Alice interjected in an anxious voice. "I don't think I'm ready for that. I'll need to prepare…"

"You promised," Bella reminded her, glaring under Edward's arm.

"I know, but... Seriously, Bella! I don't have any idea how to _not_ kill you."

"You can do it," she encouraged. "I trust you." Edward snarled in fury. Alice shook her head quickly, looking panicked.

"Bella," I whined, why the hell did she want to do it now?

"Carlisle?" Bella turned to look at him. Edward grabbed her face in his hand, forcing her to look at him. His other hand was out, palm toward Carlisle. Carlisle ignored that.

"I'm able to do it," he answered her question. "You would be in no danger of me losing control."

"Sounds good." you could hardly understand her as clearly because of the way Edward held her jaw.

"Hold on," Edward said between his teeth. "It doesn't have to be now."

"There's no reason for it not to be now," Bella said, the words coming out distorted.

"I can think of a few."

"Of course you can," Bella said sourly. "Now let go of me."

"Uh, Bells, I'm sort of with Edward…" I said softly, she looked at me with a traitorous expression. "You can do it, but not now," I explained as Edward freed her face, and folded his arms across his chest.

"In about two hours, Charlie will be here looking for you. I wouldn't put it past him to involve the police. All three of them…" Bella frowned. I understood, Charlie, Renee, and Jacob. Bella would need to distance herself from them, they'd have to believe she was dead, they'd never see her again.

"In the interest of remaining inconspicuous," Edward said, still talking through his gritted teeth, but looking at Carlisle now, "I suggest that we put this conversation off, at the very least until Bella finishes high school, and moves out of Charlie's house."

"That's a reasonable request, Bella," Carlisle pointed out. I nodded, and she gave me the same look. I shrugged, her rushing wasn't good. Bella pursed her lips.

"I'll consider it." Edward relaxed. His jaw unclenched.

"I should probably take you home," he said, more calm now, but clearly in a hurry to get Bella out of here. "Just in case Charlie wakes up early." Bella looked at Carlisle.

"After graduation?"

"You have my word." Bella took a deep breath, smiled, and turned back to Edward.

"Okay. You can take me home." Edward rushed Bella out of the house before Carlisle could promise her anything else. He took her out the back, so she couldn't get to see what was broken in the living room.

"Jeez," I muttered

"Alex," Jasper began "Are you sure about letting her?"

"It's not really any of my business. It's her decision and I've known Bella long enough to know when it's a lost cause to try and talk her out of something." I confessed "Plus, I had to live through the last eight months with her, and I don't want her to be like that again." I said softer. Everyone looked both guilty and understanding at that point.

I took a deep breath

"Well, I should probably go now, I think everyone's had a heart attack from worry. It's been long enough." I decided

"They're going to know where you were…" Alice muttered, I shrugged

"They'll get over it." I confessed, I gave her a hug, then Esme, shook Carlisle and Jasper's hand before I headed towards the door.

"By the way," I remembered "The boys don't know everything that's happening to me, cause I haven't gotten around to telling them, so, don't let anything slip yet…?" I half asked. Everyone nodded

"You have our word." Carlisle promised. I smiled

"Thanks."

"No problem."

I headed for the door and closed it behind me before walking back the way I'd first came. That was one eventful day. Though, it wasn't over. I still had my mother to face.


	21. Chapter 21

Chapter 20:

I ran through the forest, I guess I shouldn't have been surprised that the wolves scents were _everywhere_! Literally. They'd had a search party out for me… I wonder if they thought I'd been kidnapped…?

I didn't cross paths with any of them, for which I was grateful.

When I reached home, the porch lights were on. I thought, I could go through the front door and possible tip everyone off that I was home… or, could I go in through the window?

I looked at the second story, there was no way I'd be able to climb up there.

I sighed, front door it was.

I walked towards it and turned the door knob, it was open. I walked in very quietly and locked the door behind me. I turned around, half expecting James to be standing there, but he wasn't. I let out a sigh of relief.

I pulled my shoes off before walking through the house and up the stairs to my room. I peaked in around the door, almost expecting someone to be waiting, as Jacob had been the last few times.

It was empty.

I walked in, made sure my window was latched shut before shutting my door. I stripped off my clothes and threw them straight into my wash basket. If I went to put them in a wash now, it'd wake someone up, the same if I had a shower.

I huffed, so I couldn't be positive the vampire smells as gone until tomorrow.

I placed my ear against my wall after pulling my pyjama's on, listening into James' bedroom.

It was empty too.

So only my parents were home…

I walked out of my room quietly and to my parents room, only to find that was empty too.

"Great they're all out looking for me," I muttered. I grabbed my clothes and raced down the stairs. If no one was home, I didn't need to be silent.

I put my clothes on the longest wash possible before heading upstairs to lather myself in more aromas and rid myself of the sweet vampire smell. I sat in the bath for at least an hour to get rid of it all.

When I got out, still no one had come home. I checked the time. It was about three in the morning now.

I sighed, I was probably going to have to go and find them, wasn't I. Otherwise I bet they'd be out all night.

I got redressed after my bath and I headed towards the back door. The best place to start, would be at Emily's house, if no one was there, then they'd be at Jacob's.

I wonder how they're going to act about the fact that I broke Jacob's face… I'm probably going to have to admit the things that happened then aren't I.

I sighed and ran off towards Emily's house. I knew before I got there that it was empty so I diverted towards Jacob's.

I could hear all the voices from a mile off.

There was Billy, my parents, Sam, Emily, Sue, Old Quil, Kim, then there were all of the wolves. Jacob, Embry, Leah, Seth, Jared, Paul and James.

Jeez, you'd think they would have followed my scent to the boarder and then automatically understood where I'd gone. If their brains' had worked like that, they wouldn't have freaked out as much.

Oh wait, I was with vampires, of course they'd freak out.

I didn't stop running until I'd opened the door and stood in the door frame, no one noticed me enter.

"AHEM!" I called above everyone. They all froze and turned to look at me. They stared for a while

"Hi." I waved.

"Alexis!" my mother was on me in a second.

"Jeez," I muttered "What's wrong?"

"You've been gone for hours!" she reminded me

"So?" I asked confused "I'm not allowed to go for a walk?"

"It's gone midnight and you still didn't return!" my mother scolded

"I didn't remember I had a curfew." I said

"Alexis Westlake! You do not stay out past midnight without letting us know where you are!" she scolded me. I held my hands up

"I'm sorry." was all I said.

"Where have you been?" dad asked

"Around. I went for a walk." I confessed

"We couldn't find you!" James jumped in

"It's not like I was hiding." I said. Could they not even find my scent?

"You've been out walking this long?" Jacob asked, I glared at him and examined his face, he looked normal.

"I needed to blow off some steam." I admitted.

"So punching Jacob in the face didn't help then?" Jared smirked.

"No." I answered simply. Everyone just looked at me as though waiting for me to explain something.

"Alexis," Sam began "A word?" I huffed as he walked past me and out the door. I turned and followed, as did the entire pack.

"Where were you?"

"You already asked me that!" I hissed

"You went to _them_ didn't you?" Jacob growled

"Oh, I'm sorry, I didn't believe it was any of your business!" I spat.

"It's our job to protect you, and we can't do that if you go running off to them!" Jacob argued

"I don't need your frickin protection!" I snarled

"You can't protect yourself."

"I don't need protecting!" I half repeated

"You've still got that vamp after you!" James added in

"When are you all going to get it into your thick skulls! She's not after me!" I said for what felt like the thousandth time. "I do not need your stupid permission to go to Forks or to see my _friends_!" I sneered the word, rubbing in the meaning.

"They're vampires!" Jared reminded me

"And yet you've tried to kill me much more often then them!" I accused. "James has tried to kill me once, and Jacob's tried to kill me at least twice! So don't you dare say they're dangerous when I'm obviously safer around them!"

All of them growled at my accusation.

"We warned you being around us was dangerous." Sam added

"Yes, and I accept that, but that does not mean you can go and question everything I do because you think you're better then me!" I answered annoyed. "I'm over you looking down at me. I want you to start trusting me!" they were silent then.

"Are they back?" Jacob changed the topic

"They came back yesterday night." I admitted.

"Then how come you only just went to visit?" Seth wondered

"Because Alice told me they only just got back." I admitted

"She lied to you?" Leah scoffed

"Yes, but unlike you, I don't mind that, because I understand why she did." I said, accusing them just a little.

"You trust them?" Jacob asked surprised

"I understand them!" I corrected "I can understand why they wouldn't want me there the second they get home." I explained. "I wish you'd be able to do that with me. Or do I need to knock some sense into you all?"

"How did you do that?" Paul questioned, I raised an eyebrow "Dismantle his face? He looked ugly as hell afterwards." Paul smirked. Jacob growled at him.

I shrugged

"I just punched him." I confessed.

"You broke his cheek bone!" Jared smirked

"And his nose!" Embry added

"And dislocated his jaw." Leah reminded them

"Only dislocated?" I asked disappointed "I thought I'd broken that too," I grumbled, earning a laugh from everyone.

"But how'd you do it?" Seth asked, I shrugged

"I don't know, I don't know anything that's going on."

"What has been going on?" Sam wondered

"You know." I said, Sam's eyes narrowed a little

"How'd you get here?"

"Not this again!" I groaned

"Alexis! Has something been going on?" Sam demanded to know

"Why do you keep asking? Didn't I just ask you to trust me?" I wondered

"Then why do I believe you're hiding something?" he asked

"Why is it so important?" I asked

"Because, we want to know if something's going on with you." Sam admitted

"We want to help," Leah said

"It's not a problem," I assured them "So far it's the only reason I'm still standing." I reminded them

"So something did happen?" Jared wondered, he was still betting on my speed. I debated for a second on telling them or not.

To tell the truth, I didn't have a reason for not telling them, I didn't have a reason for keeping it a secret. I just didn't want to tell them. I guess I felt sort of special, knowing something they didn't.

I sighed

"Yes," I answered.

"It was the speed wasn't it?!" Jared wondered, ecstatic.

"Yes." I answered again. Jared was happy about that "Did you have some sort of bet going on or something?"

"No." I didn't believe him.

"So what happened?" Sam asked

"After I yelled at Jacob I ran off and I ran much too fast, ever since then it's happened when ever I want it to." I said simply

"Why didn't you tell us?" Leah wondered

"Didn't feel like it. You were all annoying me." I decided.

"Thanks," Leah muttered, I smirked

"No problem." she rolled her eyes

"So how fast can you run?" Jared wondered.

"It takes me less then ten seconds to get from my house to the beach," I confessed. Seth whistled

"Nice,"

"Thanks."

"Doubt you're faster then me though," Leah smirked

"Who knows," I smirked with a shrug.

"So you can run really fast, you broke Jacob's face…" James began to list

"My balance is pretty good." I admitted

"You've always had good balance," James thought

"No, it's better then that." I confessed, he rolled his eyes.

"Your eyes change colour, your senses are good," he looked at me, waiting for me to add something else into the list.

I wondered, I should probably not tell them I jumped out of a tree, they'd probably act worse then Alice had… So maybe I wouldn't tell them that I landed on my feet.

"I don't smell appetising to vampires." I admitted

"What?" everyone asked.

"Yeah, they said I didn't smell like everyone else, Alice wasn't sure how to describe it but, she said, I smelled like nice perfume." I remembered

"Really?"

"Yeah." I nodded "Another reason why I'm not in danger when around them, because I don't smell 'appealing'." I said, they looked a little guilty now. "That's also what Victoria meant when she said I smelt weird." I added

"Why didn't you tell us that before?" James questioned

"I only found out three days ago. I've been too pissed at you lately to tell you." I reminded them.

"So, which animal is that?" Paul questioned, every one looked at him confused

"Well obviously she's some sort of animal, she growls for gods sake." he reminded them

"What animal, growls, hissed and eyes change colour?" Seth wondered

"Cats hiss," Jared thought

"There eyes aren't gold though." Leah rolled her eyes.

Cats! Jesus! How the hell did I miss that?! Cats hiss, have good balance, are flexible, growl, _some_ have gold or amber eyes, and, they _always _land on their feet!

I hit myself in the forehead before banging my head with my fists in annoyance. How could I not realise it was a cat? It was so obvious!

I suddenly felt someone grab each of my wrists to stop me from hitting myself.

"What are you doing?" Jacob questioned

"It's a cat! I'm acting like a cat! I can't believe I didn't realise that! It's so obvious!" I admitted annoyed

"How is it obvious?" James questioned confused. I rolled my eyes.

"Cats have great senses, are flexible, well balanced, they growl, they hiss, some cats have amber eyes, and they _always _land on their feet!" I explained, repeating my thoughts.

"So?" James wondered, I turned to Jacob

"The rings," I reminded him.

"That was a one time thing," he thought, after realising what I was talking about

"So? It's still something! I mean, what human turns their body like that and lands lightly on their feet?" I wondered

"What about the speed?" Jared wondered

"Cheetahs." I smirked

"But they're a different type of cat," Paul said

"So?" I asked, not seeing the difference. "This actually makes sense… except for the part as to why it's happening…" I muttered.

"Maybe we should tell mum and dad…?" James decided, I looked at him stunned

"Why?"

"Maybe they know something," he shrugged

"Or maybe we'd just freak them out that both their children are some sort of animal." I said "I'm sure they'd be okay with it." James thought

"Maybe, but I don't want them to know yet." I said sternly

"Why?"

"Why not?" James rolled his eyes at me.

"Hey, anyone got some catnip? I want to see how she reacts to it!" Jared smirked, Paul started laughing. I glared at them, removed Jacob's hands from my wrist and walked up to Jared. I punched him in the shoulder and the air was filled with a deafening crack.

"HOLY SHIT!" Jared swore, I think he was to surprised to phase. He held his shoulder and looked at me shocked

"Not funny!" I sneered at him. Everyone walked over and Sam examined Jared's shoulder.

"It'll heal," he assured Jared. He bashed Jared in the shoulder, the opposite way, in order to put it back into place. Jared yelped at the pain.

"I think I found out why my anger keeps flaring up around you lot," I said shaking my fist in satisfaction.

"Why?" James wondered

"Cat's and dogs don't like each other," I smirked, James rolled his eyes

"We're not dogs." he grumbled

"Fine, felines and canines." I corrected.

"How the hell did you break his shoulder?" Embry questioned. I shrugged

"I just got angry, or annoyed."

"What does being strong have to do with cats?" Paul questioned

"What's being strong got to do with wolves?" I wondered in return, they could see how that was a rational question.

The door to the house opened and everyone filed out.

"Alexis, are you alright?" mum asked

"Mum, how many times have you asked me that, seriously?" I wondered "You're really overreacting lately."

"We heard a crack." dad said

"Oh yeah, James broke Jared's shoulder." I lied. James glared down at me, a low snarl leaving his throat at the fact that I pinned the blame on him

"Why?" mum asked

"Jared insulted me, so I asked him too," I shrugged, James seemed to calm down at that, at the idea that it was my fault too. "It was Jared's fault." I added, Jared growled at me but I ignored him.

"Well, it's late, we're all going home." Mum announced

"Alright." I shrugged. I did need to sleep, school was started back up in two days, and for my final year, I did not need to be falling asleep in class.

I let mum drag me to the car as dad and James followed. When we got into the car, I couldn't help but look down at my hand, the one that had broken Jared's shoulder. How the hell was I strong enough to _injure_ a _werewolf_? They're like vampires, solid as a rock! Just a warm rock.

Thinking about it, I was a lot like them. My body temperature was high, I was fast, suddenly strong, had good senses, got angry easily and I now think it's because I'm a cat, while they're wolves…

That wasn't weird at all.

James was right, I should tell mum and dad, see if they knew something, but, I didn't want them to treat me differently like they did with James now. Sure I'd like them to worry a little less, but it seemed with James, they just didn't care anymore. Sure there was nothing they could do, but it was like they actually didn't care if he got hurt or something. I didn't want that.

I was scared they'd treat me completely differently too. But I'd never tell James that, it would just make him worry or tell me I'm being stupid. I didn't need that.

* * *

After that, things seemed to go back to normal. Spring break ended so I had to go back to school, Bella too. I guess I shouldn't have been surprised when Edward and Alice reenrolled themselves again.

The hospital welcomed Carlisle back with eager arms, not even bothering to conceal their delight that Esme had found life in L.A. so little to her liking.

Edward and Alice had resumed their schedules from the beginning of the year, which put Edward in most of Bella's classes again. Bella's behaviour had been such last fall, after the Cullens' supposed move to L.A., that the seat beside her had never been filled. Even Mike, always eager to take any advantage, had kept a safe distance. So Edward refilled the spot.

With the Cullens back in place, it was almost as if the last eight months were just a disturbing nightmare. For me and Bella.

I was glad to know about them now too. Suddenly the reason why they sat alone and why no one ever approached them but why everyone loved them, made sense. But like always, it didn't effect me.

I told Edward, Alice and Bella my theory about the cat thing and Alice couldn't help but laugh at me. I scowled at her and then told them how I'd broken Jared's shoulder. She shut up then.

I learned Bella was grounded to the end of the century and that she couldn't visit LaPush. At this she'd thrown Edward an angry glare. I was going to argue in Bella's defence then, but remembering how many times I'd almost been killed stopped me for a minute. Bella gave me a look and I argued anyway. Edward had reminded me they'd tried to kill me and I had to remind him that it was because I angered them accidentally on purpose.

The conversation had ended there and Edward hadn't eased up. Bella had then added that it was also Charlie's fault _because_ she was grounded. I'd shot her a glare and told her she should have told me that before she got me to argue with Edward for no reason. She apologised.

What was worse is that Jacob was ignoring Bella. She called all the time, mainly during the hours Edward wasn't in the house as to not piss him off, but Jacob just ignored the phone. If Billy picked up he told her Jacob was out. That was when Bella would call me.

Every time I asked Jacob why he would just put the bitter mask on his face and turn away from me, ignoring the subject. I wasn't happy about this.

This lasted for weeks. Jacob ignored Bella, and ignored me when I mentioned her. I told Bella this, and I told them both that if it continued I was going to loose it and bash Jacob's head in. He was really annoying me.

In the few weeks, Jared and Paul had began teasing me _a lot_. It turned out I enjoyed having people play with my hair and having people _pat_ me. I think this pissed me off more then Jacob. So Jared and Paul were constantly on me for that. In return I'd broken quite a few of their bones.

That didn't stop them and they were apparently still in search for some catnip. I was going to kill them. And if they started pointing laser pointers at me and waving fake mice around I was going to _murder _them.

The boys had discovered that the cat theory was actually really sensible. I'd raced Leah, and won, but only by a fraction. James had had an arm wrestling match with me, which I won, but mainly because I broke his fingers accidentally. They'd healed in a second but I still felt bad.

Saturday, after work, I'd gone around to Emily's house as usual. Everyone except for Embry, Jared and Seth was there. That was acceptable, they were on patrol. But Jacob was also missing.

"Where's Jake?" I wondered sitting next to Leah causally

"We sent him on an errand." Sam said. I looked at him, I could hear the seriousness in his voice.

"An errand…?" I asked, Sam nodded.

"We needed some things clarified." Sam explained, I felt strangely anxious now for some reason.

"What things?" I questioned sitting up straight.

"About the Cullens." Sam finally sighed. I gapped at him

"You sent him to talk to Bella?!" I asked "Are you stupid?! Why the hell didn't you send someone else?"

"Because he's the closest to her."

"Exactly! All the more reason to send someone else!" I groaned "Why didn't you just ask me to do it?"

"Because it is a matter of the treaty, and although you are involved in all this, the treaty is not your responsibility." Sam explained

"I don't care!" I groaned. "I can't believe you'd torture him like that and send him to see Bella, especially when Edward _never _leaves her side!" I admitted "This is going to torture him. And you're all going to have to live through it." I added.

I don't think Sam had thought of that as his lips pursed.

"Jeez." I muttered and headed for the door.

"Where are you going?" Sam questioned.

"To stop Jacob before he does something he'll regret!" I answered as I walked out the door and ran through the trees.

I wasn't going to interfere unless necessary, I knew Jacob would kill me otherwise. He'd think I was there for Bella, not him, though I was going for them both, I knew he wouldn't get this.

Halfway to Bella's house I climbed a tree and ran along the branches. My new balance had come in great handy for something like this, and it was actually really fun to do.

I found Jacob easily. He was standing not far from Bella's house, the look on his face was, pained. But he covered it up when I heard Edward's car pull up.

"Let me go! I'm going to murder him! Traitor!" Bella shouted the epithet toward the trees. What the hell had Jacob done now? I silently walked amongst the trees to Bella's house. The second it came into view, I understood the problem. Parked in Bella's driveway next to the cruiser was a shiny, bright red motorcycle, flaunting itself in the driveway. Bella's motorcycle.

I gapped at it! I couldn't believe Jacob would do this?! How the hell could he hurt her like this?

"Charlie will hear you," Edward warned Bella. I looked down to see them near Edward's car as Edward held Bella. "And once he gets you inside, he may brick over the doorway." Bella glanced back at the house

"Just give me one round with Jacob, and then I'll deal with Charlie." Bella struggled futilely to break free.

"Jacob Black wants to see me. That's why he's still here." Edward explained, being able to read Jacob's thoughts.  
Bella stopped cold. Her hands went limp.

"Talk?" Bella asked.

"More or less."

"How much more?" Bella's voice shook. Edward smoothed her hair back from her face.

"Don't worry, he's not here to fight me. He's acting as… spokesperson for the pack."

"Oh." Bella understood. Edward looked at the house again, then tightened his arm around Bella's waist and pulled her toward the woods.

"We should hurry. Charlie's getting impatient." I walked easily along the branches until I sat down above them.

Jacob was lounging against a mossy tree trunk as he waited, his face hard and bitter. He looked at Bella, and then at Edward. Jacob's mouth stretched into a humourless sneer, and he shrugged away from the tree. He stood on the balls of his bare feet, leaning slightly forward, with his trembling hands clenched into fists.

Edward stopped as soon as they saw him, leaving a wide space between him, Bella and Jacob. Edward turned his body, shifting Bella so that she was behind him. Bella leaned around him to stare at Jacob – to accuse him with her eyes.

"Bella," Jacob said as a greeting, nodding once toward her without looking away from Edward.

"Why?" Bella whispered, trying to hide the sound of the lump in her throat. "How could you do this to me, Jacob?" The sneer vanished, but his face stayed hard and rigid.

"It's for the best."

"What is that supposed to mean? Do you want Charlie to _strangle_ me? Or did you want him to have a heart attack, like Harry? No matter how mad you are at me, how could you do this to him?" Jacob winced, and his eyebrows pulled together, but he didn't answer.

"He didn't want to hurt anyone – he just wanted to get you grounded, so that you wouldn't be allowed to spend time with me," Edward murmured, explaining the thoughts Jacob wouldn't say.

Jacob's eyes sparked with hate as he glowered at Edward again.

"Aw, Jake!" Bella groaned. "I'm already grounded! Why do you think I haven't been down to LaPush to kick your butt for avoiding my phone calls? Didn't Lexi tell you that?"

I would have but he avoided the topic of you.

Jacob's eyes flashed back to her, confused for the first time.

"That's why?" he asked, and then locked his jaw, like he was sorry he'd said anything.

"He thought I wouldn't let you, not Charlie," Edward explained again.

"Stop that," Jacob snapped. Edward didn't answer. Jacob shuddered once, and then gritted his teeth as hard as his fists. "Bella wasn't exaggerating about your… abilities," he said through his teeth. "So you must already know why I'm here."

"Yes," Edward agreed in a soft voice. "But, before you begin, I need to say something."

Jacob waited, clenching and unclenching his hands as he tried to control the shivers rolling down his arms.

"Thank you," Edward said, and his voice throbbed with the depth of his sincerity. "I will never be able to tell you how grateful I am. I will owe you for the rest of my… existence."

Jacob stared at him blankly, his shudders stilled by surprise. He exchanged a quick glance with Bella, but her face was just as mystified. "For keeping Bella alive," Edward clarified, his voice rough and fervent. "When I... didn't."

"Edward –," Bella started to say, but he held one hand up, his eyes on Jacob. Understanding washed over Jacob's face before the hard mask returned.

"I didn't do it for your benefit."

"I know. But that doesn't erase the gratitude I feel. I thought you should know. If there's ever anything in my power to do for you…" Jacob raised one black brow. Edward shook his head.

"That's not in my power."  
"Whose, then?" Jacob growled. Edward looked down at Bella.

"Hers. I'm a quick learner, Jacob Black, and I don't make the same mistake twice. I'm here until she orders me away." It wasn't hard to understand what Bella and I had missed in the conversation. The only thing that Jacob would want from Edward would be his absence.

"Never," Bella whispered, still locked in Edward's eyes. Jacob made a gagging sound.

Bella broke free from Edward's gaze to frown at Jacob.

"Was there something else you needed, Jacob? You wanted me in trouble – mission Accomplished. Charlie might just send me to military school. But that won't keep me away from Edward. There's nothing that can do that. What more do you want?" Jacob kept his eyes on Edward

"I just needed to remind your bloodsucking friends of a few key points in the treaty they agreed to. The treaty chat is the only thing stopping me from ripping his throat out right this minute."

"We haven't forgotten," Edward said at the same time that Bella demanded,

"What key points?" Jacob still glowered at Edward, but he answered Bella.

"The treaty is quite specific. If any of them bite a human, the truce is over. Bite, not kill," he emphasised. Finally, he looked at Bella. His eyes were cold.

Shit. Jacob wasn't going to be happy about Bella's plans.

"That's none of your business." Bella suddenly said.  
"The hell it –" was all he managed to choke out. Bella's answer sent Jacob into near convulsions. He pressed his fists hard against his temples, closing his eyes tight and curling in on himself as he tried to control the spasms. His face turned shallow green under the russet skin.

"Jake? You okay?" Bella asked anxiously. Bella took a half-step toward him, then Edward caught her and yanked her back behind his own body.

"Careful! He's not under control," he warned her. But Jacob was already somewhat himself again; only his arms were shaking now. He scowled at Edward with pure hate.

"Ugh. _I_ would never hurt her."

None of us missed the inflection, or the accusation it contained. A low hiss escaped Edward's lips. Jacob clenched his fists reflexively.

"BELLA!" Charlie's roar echoed from the direction of the house. "YOU GET IN THIS HOUSE THIS INSTANT!" All of us froze, listening to the silence that followed. Bella was the first to speak; her voice trembled.

"Crap." Jacob's furious expression faltered.

"I _am_ sorry about that," he muttered. "I had to do what I could – I had to try…"

"Thanks." The tremor in Balla's voice ruined the sarcasm. She stared up the path, half-expecting Charlie to come barreling through the wet ferns like an enraged bull. Bella would be the red flag in that scenario.

"Just one more thing," Edward said to Bella, and then he looked at Jacob. "We've found no trace of Victoria on our side of the line – have you?" He knew the answer as soon as Jacob thought it, but Jacob spoke the answer anyway.

"The last time was while Bella was… away. We let her think she was slipping through – we were tightening the circle, getting ready to ambush her – But then she took off like a bat out of hell. Near as we can tell, she caught your little female's scent and bailed. She hasn't come near our lands since." Edward nodded.

"When she comes back, she's not your problem anymore. We'll–"

"She killed on our turf," Jacob hissed. "She's ours!"

"No –," Bella began to protest both declarations.

"BELLA! I SEE HIS CAR AND I KNOW YOU'RE OUT THERE! IF YOU AREN'T INSIDE THIS HOUSE IN ONE MINUTE... !" Charlie didn't bother to finish his threat.

"Let's go," Edward said. Bella looked back at Jacob, torn.

"Sorry," he whispered so low that Bella had to read his lips to understand. "Bye, Bells." "You promised," she reminded him desperately. "Still friends, right?" Jacob shook his head slowly.

"You know how hard I've tried to keep that promise, but… I can't see how to keep trying. Not now…" He struggled to keep his hard mask in place, but it wavered, and then disappeared. "Miss you," he mouthed. One of his hands reached toward Bella, his fingers outstretched, like he wished they were long enough to cross the distance between them.

I almost felt like crying, it was a sad parting.

"Me, too," Bella choked out. Her hand reached toward his across the wide space.

"Jake..." Bella took a step toward him. Edward pulled her back again, his arms restraining instead of defending.

Even I didn't like this gesture.

"It's okay," Bella promised him, looking up to read his face with trust in her eyes. His eyes were unreadable, his face expressionless. Cold.

"No, it's not."

"Let her go," Jacob snarled, furious again. "She wants to!" He took two long strides forward. A glint of anticipation flashed in his eyes. His chest seemed to swell as it shuddered.

Edward pushed Bella behind himself, wheeling to face Jacob.

"No! Edward–!"

I jumped from the tree and landed on my feet right in front of Jacob, I placed a hand on his chest and pushed him two of my steps backwards.

"Stop." I warned. He looked at me surprised. I then turned to Edward

"You're both being stupid." I told Edward, indicating towards his stupid posture "I know you're trying to protect her Edward, but you're controlling her instead." I explained. I don't think Edward knew the difference.

"Move." Jacob ordered I turned and glared at him

"Make me." I tempted. My eyes changed and I he took a step back from me.

No one had the chance to speak again as the yell flashed across the sky.

"ISABELLA SWAN!"

"Come on! Charlie's mad!" Bella's voice was panicked, but not because of Charlie now. "Hurry!" Bella tugged on Edward and he relaxed a little. He pulled her back slowly, always keeping his eyes on Jacob as they retreated.

I waved and Bella mouthed the word sorry, followed by a thank you. I just nodded.

Jacob watched them with a dark scowl on his bitter face. The anticipation drained from his eyes, and then, just before the forest came between us all, his face suddenly crumpled in pain.

I frowned at him but before I could have the chance to feel sorry for him he glared at me.

"What are you doing here?"

"Stopping you from doing something you'd regret." I answered

"I would never hurt her."

"You'd never hurt me either apparently." I reminded him. His expression softened.

"Jacob, if you hurt Edward, Bella will got into a worse state of depression then before, and you _wouldn't_ be able to console her. At all! Do you really want to be the one to cause her such misery?" I asked. I saw Jacob debate over that theory for a while. His expression didn't change even when he got to his conclusion.

I glanced back towards Bella's house before walking around him. I walked towards LaPush and eventually I heard Jacob's footsteps behind me.

I kept glancing back at him, but the same expression was on his face the whole way home. Pure sadness. It was awful and I knew Bella felt bad for doing such a thing. I wouldn't be able to answer her when she asked me how he was, it'd only make her feel bad.

"How'd it go?" Jared asked when Jake and I returned.

"No one was hurt," I shrugged

"But…?" Leah sensed

"Jake got angry, that's about it. Bella's not going to live through the night because Charlie's going to murder her." I added

"Why?" Embry wondered

"Charlie hates motorcycles." I said "And guess what Jacob took with him to Bella's?" Embry understood

"Her motorcycle." he muttered. I nodded and looked at Jacob, he looked pretty guilty.

I sighed.

"Can't do anything about it now though." I muttered with a shrug before sitting down.

"So," I began "Who can vote this their most eventful year so far?" I raised my hand with a smirk.

"Don't complain, you know you love it." Leah smirked as she nudged me.

"I wasn't complaining, just making an observation." I shrugged

"Yeah right," she disagreed. I poked my tongue out at her.

"Alright, I made cupcakes!" Emily informed. I was the first out of my seat and I grabbed three before anyone had made the kitchen.

"Don't be greedy," Leah scolded trying to take one. I ducked out of her way

"This is all I'm going to get once you lot got to them." I teased, Leah huffed and rolled her eyes before going to fight her way through the boys.

It sort of amazed me how I was so comfortable now, surrounded by giant werewolves that is. Plus I was friends with vampires and I was apparently now a cat.

A lot of events happened this year, and it's not even over yet. And with Victoria still on the loose and the Cullens back, I can only assume it's not going to be a peaceful end of my senior year. I probably couldn't think of a more complicated year to be honest.

I smirked as the wolves fought over the cupcakes as Emily stood back with Sam, his arm around her waist.

Now all that needs to happen was for me to get my _three_ musketeers back and for the four of us to start acting, relatively, normal. Then I definitely wont have anything to complain about.


End file.
